Batelco Group, an international telecommunications group based in Bahrain, ended the first nine months of this year with a net profit of BD32.5 million ($86.2 million), a 21 per cent decline compared to the corresponding period in 2015.  

The third quarter net profit was a decrease of 27 per cent over Q3 2015, the company said. Batelco has operations across 14 countries.
 
The net profits were impacted by increased finance costs due to borrowings in the group’s operation in Jordan, one-off items recorded in 2015 and share of loss of the group’s investments, said a company statement.

Despite competitive pressure, the group was able to maintain stable revenues and a robust EBITDA margin, it said.

For the nine-month period, the group’s gross revenues were down marginally by 2 per cent year-on-year to BD273 million ($724.1 million) mainly due to competitive pressures in key markets. Gross revenues declined by 4 per cent in Q3 2016 compared to the same quarter in 2015 and 2 per cent since Q2 2016.

EBITDA for the period was BD105.2M ($279 million), a 2 per cent decline year over year.  EBITDA decreased by 8 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 compared to Q3 2015 and 6 per cent since Q2 2016. Throughout the period, the group was able to continue its successful cost containment programmes resulting in a 3 per cent year-to-date reduction in expenditure compared to the same period last year. The group continues to sustain its robust EBITDA margin of 39 per cent, it said.

Results from operating activities for the period were BD52.8 million (US$140.1M), reflecting a 7 per cent decrease year-over-year and a 21 per cent decrease QoQ compared to Q3 2015.  This decline is attributed to increased depreciation charges for higher capex as a result of significant network expansion throughout the group.

The group’s balance sheet remains strong, it said, reporting net assets of BD548.1 million (US$1.453 billion) as of 30 September 2016 and a cash balance of BD163.9M ($434.7 million). This includes the impact of the interim dividend (10 fils per share) announced and paid during the quarter. Earnings per share for the period stood at 19.5 fils.

The Q3 financial results were announced following a meeting of the Board of Directors at Batelco Group Headquarters today (November 2).

The Board noted that the Group’s efforts are focussed on transforming operations to achieve a competitive edge and long-term operational excellence. The communications world is shifting due to a thirst for more content and digital transformation and Batelco is paving the way to be positioned as a leading digital solutions and services provider, the company said.

Across the Group, the overall subscriber numbers were down by 6 per cent year on year, mainly as a result of decreases in Batelco Bahrain and Sabafon mobile subscribers due to market pressure. However Broadband subscriber numbers increased by 16 per cent YoY with particularly strong input from the home market of Bahrain, which has seen a 29 per cent year-on-year increase in subscribers. This growth is mainly attributable to the take up of fibre services which are now widely available across Bahrain, it said.

During the period, a number of overseas markets delivered positive results due to the rollout of new and enhanced solutions to exceed their customers’ expectations. Overall, Batelco’s key overseas operations performed well and at the end of the nine month period with 59 per cent of revenues and 55 per cent of EBITDA attributable to operations outside of Bahrain. - TradeArabia News Service