Leading Kuwait telecom operator Zain said its net income during the first nine months grew 7 per cent year-on-year to hit KD210.2 million ($762.5 million) over the same period last year.

Announcing solid financial results on Tuesday, Zain said its consolidated revenues for the nine-month period surged to KD988.1 million ($3.6 billion), up 2.2 per cent over last year.

The company’s consolidated Ebitda reached KD444 million up 4 per cent over last year, reflecting an Ebitda margin of 45 per cent (up one percentage point). The earnings per share reached 54 fils ($0.20).

The telecom operator said its third-quarter net profit fell 13 per cent to KD70 million ($254 million) from KD80.31 million in the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the year-on-year customer growth across all Zain operations was put at 17 per cent. As of September 30, 2011, the company was serving 41.4 million managed active customers.

The Zain Group said it has added 6.1 million new active customers over the past 12 months.

Commenting on the results, chairman of Zain board Asaad Al Banwan said, 'These solid results justify the many prudent decisions recently adopted by the board and the executive management that focus on maximising shareholder value.'

'Despite intense competition and the lingering effects of the global economic crisis, the continuous growth in several key financial indicators is indicative of the successful operational efficiency drive implemented by the company,' Banwan remarked.

'These nine-month results are all the more impressive when one considers that the net profit for the period was adversely affected by currency variances totaling $100 million,' he added.

Banwan also revealed that the quarter witnessed growth in total shareholders’ equity which has now reached $7.64 billion.

'This is all the more impressive when one takes into account that the company distributed over KD1.4 billion in dividends over the past two years, he added.
 
Zain Group CEO Nabeel Bin Salamah said, 'We have seen significant growth in broadband revenues particularly as a result of increased use of social networking sites and applications via smart phones and tablets.'

'The gap between voice and data revenues as a percentage of total company revenues is diminishing and supporting ARPU levels,' he stated.
 
“With a healthy cash balance and reduced debt levels, coupled with an optimal efficiency drive on many levels, the company is well-positioned to continue investing in and grow its profitable cash-generative operations,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service