Chairman of Ooredoo, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani (left), and Managing Director of Ooredoo, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo.
Ooredoo Group announced yesterday that net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders decreased by 50 percent yearon-year to QR193m in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 mainly due to Foreign Exchange impact coming from Myanmar with an FX loss in Q1 2021 versus an FX gain in Q1 2020. Excluding the FX impact the net profit increased by 120 percent.
EBITDA increased by 6 percent year-on-year to QR3.2bn in Q1 2021, as the company maintains its focus on digitalisation and cost optimisation. EBITDA margin increased to 45 percent in Q1 2021 from 41 percent in Q1 2020, supported by EBITDA margin expansion in Indonesia, Kuwait, Iraq and Myanmar. Excluding FX impact EBITDA increased by 9 percent.
Marginal year-on-year revenue declined by 1 percent to QR7.2bn in Q1 2021 due to a negative FX impact. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic excluding FX impact, revenue increased by 1 percent, mainly driven by growth in the Group's home market Qatar and in Indonesia. Data revenues account for more than 55 percent of total Revenue driven by data leadership and digital transformation initiatives across the Group's operations.
Commenting on the results, Chairman of Ooredoo, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, said: “Ooredoo Group delivered a robust set of results during the first quarter of 2021 despite challenging market conditions across many of our territories.
We remained focused on our digital transformation agenda which has enabled us to create value for our customers by offering a seamless and convenient user experience as well as optimise our cost base by streamlining and automating processes. Consequently, our EBITDA margin improved to 45 percent in Q1 2021 compared to 41 percent for the same period last year.”
"We made good progress with our strategy to move to a more efficient and flexible assetlight model with the successful sale and leaseback agreement valued at $750m for more than 4,200 of our telecom towers in Indonesia to Edge Point Indonesia. Monetising these assets forms an integral part of our group strategy to create value for both our shareholders and customers,” he said.
“During the quarter Ooredoo Group successfully priced its $1bn bond issuance, reflecting the market’s confidence in the strength and stability of our balance sheet as well as our strategy to deliver new and innovative solutions to our customers by leveraging our world class technology and infrastructure,” he added.
Also commenting on the results, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Managing Director of Ooredoo said: “I am pleased to report that Ooredoo Group had a solid start to the year, despite challenging market conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ooredoo Group delivered a 6 percent increase in EBITDA to QR3.2bn in Q1 2021 compared to the same period last year.
The growth was driven by the ongoing implementation of our cost optimisation strategy which includes leveraging technology to drive efficiency. As a result, our EBITDA margin for the period increased to 45 percent in Q1 2021 compared to 41 percent for the same period last year, supported by margin expansion in Indonesia, Kuwait, Myanmar and Iraq.
“Revenues remained under pressure due to a soft macroeconomic environment in many of our markets. Ooredoo Group reported revenues of QR7.2bn during the first quarter of 2021, down 1 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
Net Profit decreased by 50 percent to QR193m in Q1 2021 compared to the same period last year, mainly due to Foreign Exchange impact primarily coming from Myanmar with an FX Loss in Q1 2021 versus an FX Gain in Q1 2020,” he added.
Indosat Ooredoo continued to make strong progress with its strategy of offering simple, relevant, and transparent products supporting a 13 percent increase in revenue and a 36 percent increase in EBITDA.
Ooredoo Kuwait increased its EBITDA margin to 28 percent in Q1 2021 compared to 25 percent Q1 2020 and Ooredoo Qatar’s revenue increased slightly compared to Q1 2020. Ooredoo Group invests further in its infrastructure to bring world class services to its customers.
During the quarter Asiacell launched 4G in Iraq and Ooredoo Oman is preparing for the launch of mobile 5G services in Q2 2021. Ooredoo Qatar saw positive growth during the period, with reported revenue growing 0.6 percent year-on-year to QR1.8bn (Q1 2020: QR1.8bn).
EBITDA stood at QR962m (Q1 2020: QR966m), while EBTIDA margin remained stable at 54 percent (Q1 2020: 55 percent).
Total customer numbers were 3 million (Q1 2020: 3.2 million). Ooredoo Qatar continued to work with a range of content providers to expand the home entertainment options.
The Ooredoo ONE ‘All-In-One’ Home Service was a key factor in the growth of the Ooredoo tv customer base, which grew by 1 percent compared to Q1 2020. New products launched during the period include a new customisable app-managed postpaid plan and a revamped version of the Ooredoo Money app.
The company was recognised as ‘Global Partner of the Year’ and ‘Digital Partner of the Year’ by leading money transfer company MoneyGram.
Successful community programmes included the Ooredoo Virtual Marathon, which drew a strong response in February 2021.
