DUBAI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Vodafone Qatar, an affiliate of Vodafone Group, reported a narrower third-quarter loss on Tuesday.

The telecoms operator made a net loss of 31 million riyals ($8.3 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, the company said in a release. That compares with a loss of 72 million riyals in the prior-year period.

Vodafone Qatar, whose financial year starts on April 1, has yet to make a quarterly net profit since ending state-controlled Ooredoo's domestic monopoly in 2009 as the latter has fought hard to bolster its revenue share.

The firm, which halted a run of disappointing earnings performances by reporting a narrower second-quarter loss, reduced headcount by 10 percent in May, with some job cuts permanent, while other positions were reassigned to roles aimed at boosting mobile revenue streams.

The company's total revenue reached 541 million riyals during the quarter, up from 537 million riyals during the same period a year earlier.

Total customers reached 1.47 million during the quarter, down from 1.50 million in the same period of last year.

Vodafone Qatar's net loss in the nine months to Dec. 31 was 195 million riyals, it said in a bourse statement, compared to a loss of 286 million riyals in the same year-ago period.

($1 = 3.7492 riyals)

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Tom Arnold; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com;))