Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the largest telecom services provider in the sultanate, reported a 12.9 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.
Net profit of the company grew to RO29.1mn in the first quarter compared to RO25.8mn earned during the same quarter of 2011, according to the company's filing with the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) on Thursday.
Revenue showed a marginal decline of 0.4 per cent to reach RO111.1mn from RO111.5mn in the corresponding period of last year, while total expenses declined 3.6 per cent to RO79.6mn from RO82.6mn last year.
According to analysts, the company's net profit margin increased to 26 per cent from 23 per cent in the year-ago quarter as the company benefited from increased market share and mobile revenue.
Sameer Kattiparambil, AVP of research at EFG Hermes, said that the results are 'good' and in line with market expectations.
He said, "The market share of the company increased, which contributed to net profit growth. The company might also have got increased revenue from its Pakistani subsidiary WorldCall as the management indicated in the last quarter."
Suresh Kumar, head of research at Al Maha Financial Services, said that the growth in customer base and mobile revenue helped Omantel.
He said, "The result is positive and slightly better than our expectations. There has been an increase in the company's market share which helped to increase the profit margin. The valuation of Omantel shares still looks reasonable."
Earlier this year, Omantel had reported that net profit in 2011 grew 2.3 per cent to RO113mn, with its subsidiary WorldCall also recording a profit, of US$3.4mn.
© Muscat Daily 2012
