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January 16, 2011, 12:41 PM EST
By Mourad Haroutunian
(Updates with Mobily Chairman comment in third paragraph.)
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Etihad Etisalat Co., Saudi Arabia’s second-largest phone company by market value, said fourth- quarter profit increased 39 percent on greater demand for mobile-phone and data services.
Net income rose to 1.46 billion riyals ($389 million) from 1.05 billion riyals a year earlier, the company, which is also known as Mobily, said in a statement today. That beat the average estimate of 1.09 billion riyals by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Mobily’s full-year sales jumped 23 percent to 16 billion riyals as customers used more minutes on their phones and more data, the company said, citing board Chairman Abdulaziz Al Saghyir. The company’s customers used 85 terabytes of data a day in 2010, up from 50 terabyte a day in 2009, the Riyadh-based company said.
Mobile-phone subscriptions in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf’s second most populous Arab country, rose 18 percent to 48.6 million at the end of the third quarter from a year earlier, the Communications and Information Technology Commission, the kingdom’s telecommunications regulator, said last month. The number of Internet users climbed 14 percent to 11.2 million.
Mobily will pay a dividend of 2 riyals a share, or 1.4 billion riyals, for 2010, the company said.
Net Debt Falls
Mobily’s net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ratio dropped to 0.95 from 1.14 in the previous quarter, the company said. Last month, Mobily obtained a short-term loan worth 1.2 billion riyals that it will repay over 12 months.
On Dec. 16, Mobily signed an agreement in Ankara, Turkey, to develop a regional cable network, linking the United Arab Emirates with Turkey, passing through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.
Mobily’s shares rose 0.9 percent to 55.50 riyals in Riyadh before the company released its earnings. The stock climbed 27 percent last year.
--Editors: Will Hadfield, Simon Thiel
To contact the reporter on this story: Mourad Haroutunian in Riyadh at mharoutunian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
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(Updates with Mobily Chairman comment in third paragraph.)
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Etihad Etisalat Co., Saudi Arabia’s second-largest phone company by market value, said fourth- quarter profit increased 39 percent on greater demand for mobile-phone and data services.
Net income rose to 1.46 billion riyals ($389 million) from 1.05 billion riyals a year earlier, the company, which is also known as Mobily, said in a statement today. That beat the average estimate of 1.09 billion riyals by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Mobily’s full-year sales jumped 23 percent to 16 billion riyals as customers used more minutes on their phones and more data, the company said, citing board Chairman Abdulaziz Al Saghyir. The company’s customers used 85 terabytes of data a day in 2010, up from 50 terabyte a day in 2009, the Riyadh-based company said.
Mobile-phone subscriptions in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf’s second most populous Arab country, rose 18 percent to 48.6 million at the end of the third quarter from a year earlier, the Communications and Information Technology Commission, the kingdom’s telecommunications regulator, said last month. The number of Internet users climbed 14 percent to 11.2 million.
Mobily will pay a dividend of 2 riyals a share, or 1.4 billion riyals, for 2010, the company said.
Net Debt Falls
Mobily’s net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ratio dropped to 0.95 from 1.14 in the previous quarter, the company said. Last month, Mobily obtained a short-term loan worth 1.2 billion riyals that it will repay over 12 months.
On Dec. 16, Mobily signed an agreement in Ankara, Turkey, to develop a regional cable network, linking the United Arab Emirates with Turkey, passing through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.
Mobily’s shares rose 0.9 percent to 55.50 riyals in Riyadh before the company released its earnings. The stock climbed 27 percent last year.
--Editors: Will Hadfield, Simon Thiel
To contact the reporter on this story: Mourad Haroutunian in Riyadh at mharoutunian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>