DOHA: Ooredoo reported QR22.8bn in revenue for the nine months ended September 2018, driven by strong contributions from Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Myanmar, offset by reductions in Indonesia and Algeria.
Group Revenue before the Foreign Exchange impact decreased by 5 percent, reported Revenue decreased by 7 percent year-on-year.
Ooredoo’s results were significantly negatively impacted by the overall FX weakness in Emerging Markets as well as the market situation in Indonesia following the new SIM card registration regulation.
Group EBITDA stood at QR9.3bn with a corresponding EBITDA margin of 41 percent. Group EBITDA decreased by 11 percent year-on-year mainly due to lower revenue, pre FX EBITDA decreased by 9 percent.
Group net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders stood at QR1.1bn. The positive performances in Iraq, Oman and Tunisia were offset by market challenges and lower revenue in Indonesia and Algeria as well as a substantial FX loss in Myanmar.
Increased monetisation of data business, with significant data growth coming from consumer and enterprise customers: saw data revenue increasing to 46 percent of Group revenue. Revenue from data contributed QR10.5bn during the none-month period ended September 2018.
Ooredoo Group continues to be recognised with world-class awards. In Oman, Telecoms World Middle East recognised Ooredoo Oman with two distinct awards for the “Best National Network Operator” and “The Best Digital Content.” In Iraq, Asiacell was awarded the CARE Award for excellence in customer service.
Ooredoo Group successfully tested the first live eSIM on its world-class supernet network in Qatar and in Kuwait. Ooredoo Qatar tested the world’s first self-driving 5G connected aerial taxis. Ooredoo Qatar has more than 80 live 5G sites on the 3.5GHz spectrum band in the country.
Ooredoo’s network was recognised by Ookla, the global leader in internet testing and analysis, as Qatar’s fastest mobile network while in Algeria, Oman and Myanmar, Ookla confirmed Ooredoo’s data network leadership for its 3G and 4G networks. In Qatar, 99 percent of Ooredoo’s consumer customers migrated to e-bills, in line with Ooredoo’s digital drive initiative to support Qatar’s vision to Go Green.
Following the launch of operations in Gaza and the 3G launch in West Bank, Wataniya Palestine’s customer base increased significantly by 57 percent to more than 1.3 million customers.
Ooredoo continues to be a data leader in its markets during the period with 4G networks now available in 8 of Ooredoo’s 10 markets.
Commenting on the results, H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo Group maintains its global leadership in telecom innovation, being the first telecom operator to test the world’s first self-driving 5G connected aerial taxis, in line with our mission to support Qatar’s digital transformation vision. 5G technology is now a reality in Qatar, where we have 80+ live 5G sites and counting.
We continue to enrich people’s digital lives in our countries of operation and I am pleased to say that during the period our outstanding efforts were recognised with world-class awards. Our network has been voted
Qatar’s fastest mobile network in 2018 by Ookla. In Oman, we were awarded the “Best National Network Operator” and the “Best Digital Content Creator” by Telecoms World Middle East, while in Iraq we were awarded the CARE Award for Excellence in Customer Service.”
Digital enablement is the future and Ooredoo remains committed to making the right investments to deliver new technologies to our customers, unlocking more of their potential and helping them prosper in a digital world. 46 percent of revenues are now generated from our data and digital business, he said.
“Revenue generated from the traditional telecom services remains under pressure, in line with regional and global trends for our industry, and our financial results for the period reflect these challenges. However, I am pleased to report good growth in profitability across a number of our key markets”, Sheikh Abdulla added.
Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo, said: “Group Revenue was QR23bn, supported by strong contributions from our key markets in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Myanmar.
We continue to see challenging market conditions in Indonesia and Algeria and the overall structural changes in our industry, including the pressure on voice revenue, have impacted our financial results for the 9M 2018 period. Furthermore, a general weakness of currencies in Emerging Markets impacted our results negatively.
Despite those challenges, Ooredoo Group delivered a net profit of QR1.1bn and a solid EBITDA margin of 41 percent, supported by digital growth and cost optimisation.
In Qatar, we made significant progress in advancing our digital transformation agenda which positively impacted our results. We delivered growth across the board in Oman, with improvements in Revenue and EBITDA and a strong EBITDA margin of 53 percent.”
Sheikh Saud said Ooredoo Kuwait increased revenue by 14 percent, driven by customer additions and an increase in handset sales. In Tunisia Ooredoo increased the customer base by 5 percent and the continued focus on cost optimization helped to improve EBITDA for the nine-month period.
Ooredoo Algeria maintained its mobile data leadership, with a solid growth in 4G data users during the third quarter driving record data usage. In Iraq Ooredoo is benefitting from the stabilisation of market conditions and reported a 3 percent increase in revenue and 8 percent increase in EBITDA for the nine-month period.
“Sequential top-line growth is returning in Indonesia, with improvements in quarterly revenue and EBITDA. We are beginning to see the impact of the SIM registration regulation subdue and a positive shift in market dynamics. Myanmar reported another strong set of results, with 10% top-line growth for the nine months ended 30 September 2018, compared to the same period last year,” Sheikh Saud added.
Ooredoo Qatar built its market leadership during the nine-month period, with particularly strong progress in the 5G space. Revenue stood at QR5.8bn (9M 2017: QR5.9bn). EBITDA stood at QR3.0bn, an increase of 1 percent due to an improved revenue mix and cost efficiencies. Customer numbers stood at 3.3 million (9M 2017: 3.5 million).
