Wataniya, Kuwait's No 2 telecom operator and majority-owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), missed estimates with a 31 per cent drop in quarterly profit, mainly because of a decline in domestic income and widening losses in Saudi Arabia.

The firm, in which Qtel recently raised its stake to 92.1 per cent, made a net profit of KD15.5 million ($55.18 million) in the three months to September 30, down from KD22.5 million in the year-earlier period, according to a company statement.

Analysts forecast Wataniya would make a third-quarter net profit of between KD20.68 million and KD21 million. Quarterly revenue was KD191 million compared to KD188 million a year ago.

Domestic revenue in the first nine months fell 7.2 per cent to KD172.1 million despite Wataniya increasing its customer base by 3.7 per cent from a year earlier. This led nine-month domestic profit to fall 25 per cent over the same period to KD41.4 million.-Reuters