Wednesday, May 02, 2012
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Oman Telecommunications Co. (OTEL.ON), or Omantel, Oman's biggest telecom operator, on Wednesday posted a 13% rise in first-quarter profit to 29 million Omani rials ($75.3 million) in its preliminary results as it added more subscribers.
The first-quarter result was exactly in line with the OMR29 million that analysts at Cairo investment bank EFG-Hermes had penciled in. Muscat-based Gulf Baader Capital Markets had forecast OMR28 million profit.
The company's total customer base by the end of March rose 11% year-on-year to 3.6 million subscribers, increasing the telecom's market share to 60%, Omantel said in an emailed statement.
Omantel shares closed flat on Wednesday at OMR1.304.
-By Shereen El Gazzar, Dow Jones Newswires; +971 444 61684; Shereen.elgazzar@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-05-12 1728GMT
