Positive shareholder returns maintained
KUWAIT CITY, March 2: Wataniya Telecom (National Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C. - Ticker: NMTC) is pleased to announce the financial results of the year 2009. The Company has posted a consolidated net profit of KD 108.3 million (USD 380.6 million) for the year ending 2009, an increase on the KD 82.4 million (USD 289.7 million) for the same period in 2008. This equates to a consolidated earnings per share of 216 fils (61 cents), an increase on the 164 fils (47 cents) per share earned for the same period last year. EBITDA for the year ended 2009 stood at KD 190.2 million (USD 668.4 million) compared with an EBITDA of KD 201.3 million (USD 707.3 million) for the same period in 2008.
H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of Wataniya Telecom commented: "2009 was a successful year for Wataniya Telecom. We were able to effectively deal with continued competitive pressures in our home market of Kuwait while also delivering continuing positive results in our other properties. With the successful launch of our operations in Palestine, we look forward to 2010 and the opportunities to further develop as a group and expand our customer base which today stands at over 15.2 million."
Wataniya Telecom Group Highlights:
- Total customer base increased to 15.2 million at the close of 2009, versus 10.9 million at the close of 2008: growth of 38.8%.
- Returns to shareholders increased with consolidated earnings per share for the year 2009 of 216 fils (61 cents), compared with 164 fils (47 cents) per share for the same period in 2008.
- Revenues in 2009 totalled KD 475.5 million (USD 1.67 billion), compared with revenues for the same period in 2008 of KD 476.0 million (USD 1.68 billion).
- EBITDA for 2009 was KD 190.2 million (USD 668.4 million), compared with EBITDA of KD 201.3 million (USD 707.3 million) for the same period in 2008.
Kuwait: Wataniya Kuwait's customer base increased to 1.54 million customers at the end of Q4 2009, an increase of 17% on Q4 2008. Revenues for the year 2009 were KD 200.9 million (USD 705.9 million) compared with revenues for the same period in 2008 of KD 226.6 million (USD 796.4 million). EBITDA for the year 2009 was KD 95.7 million (USD 336.5 million) compared with EBITDA for the same period in 2008 of KD 120.5 million (USD 423.4 million). Net profit for year 2009 grew to KD 108.8 million (USD 382.5 million), compared with net profit for the same period last year of KD 84.3 million (USD 296.3 million). In June a pending legal case with the Ministry of Communication was decided in favour of the company which resulted in an exceptional gain in net profit of KD 49.8 million.
Tunisia: The Tunisiana customer base at the end of Q4 2009 stood at 5.21 million customers: an increase of 22.4% on Q4 2008. Revenues for the year 2009 were KD 102.3 million (USD 359.6 million), similar to revenues for the same period in 2008 of KD 99.2 million (USD 348.6 million). EBITDA for the year 2009 increased to KD 55.2 million (USD 194.0 million) from 51.9 million (USD 182.4 million) for the same period last year. The net attributable profit to Wataniya Telecom for the year 2009 also increased to KD 23.7 million (USD 83.4 million) compared with KD 21.2 million (USD 74.6 million) for the same period in 2008.
Algeria: The Nedjma customer base at the end of Q4 2009 was 8.0 million customers: an increase of 57.1% on Q4 2008. Nedjma posted year on year revenue growth with revenues for the year 2009 standing at KD 141.4 million (USD 497.1 million) compared with revenues of KD 130.5 million (USD 458.7 million) for the same period in 2008. EBITDA for the year 2009 was KD 46.5 million (USD 163.4 million), an increase of 23.8% on KD 37.6 million (USD 132.0 million) for the year 2008. The total net loss for the year 2009 was KD 9.8 million (USD 34.5 million) compared with net loss of KD 13.2 million (USD 46.3 million) for the same period in 2008. The net attributable loss to Wataniya Telecom in the year 2009 was KD 7.0 million (USD 24.5 million) compared with a net attributable loss of KD 9.4 million (USD 32.9 million) for the same period in 2008.
Saudi Arabia: Bravo's customer base reached 0.19 million at the end of Q4 2009, an increase of 24% from Q4 2008. Revenues in the year 2009 increased to KD 20.1 million (USD 70.6 million) from KD 14.1 million (USD 49.4 million) for the same period in 2008. The total net loss for the year 2009 was KD 11.1 million (USD 39.0 million) compared with KD 11.6 million (USD 40.9 million) in the comparable period in 2008. The net attributable loss to Wataniya Telecom for the year 2009 is KD 6.2 million (USD 21.7 million), a 5% improvement compared with the loss of KD 6.5 million (USD 22.8 million) for the year 2008.
Maldives: Total customers at the end of Q4 2009 were 0.10 million. Revenues were KD 7.7 million (USD 27.0 million) for the year 2009 compared with KD 5.6 million (USD 19.6 million) for the same period in the year 2008. EBITDA for the year 2009 was KD 0.42 million (USD 1.5 million) compared with an EBITDA loss of 0.07 million (USD 0.25 million) for the same period in 2008. The net attributable loss for the year 2009 is KD 3.3 million (USD 11.9 million) compared with the loss of KD 3.6 million (USD 13.2 million) for the same period in 2008.
Palestine: In November 2009 Wataniya Telecom commenced operations in Palestine. Total customers at the end of 2009 was 0.11 million. Revenues were KD 0.6 million (USD 2.1 million) for the year 2009. The net loss for the year 2009 was KD 4.2 million (USD 14.7 million).
© Arab Times 2010
