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Zain sees 2-year revenue growth of 9% - CEO

Zain sees 2-year revenue growth of 9% - CEO
Zain CEO Hassan Kabbani (photo archive)
ZAIN KSA
7030
-8.68% 12.62 -1.20

 

By: Mohamed Abu Meleeh

Riyadh – Mubasher: The Mobile Telecommunications Company, which operates under the name “Zain”, has achieved a growth in revenues between 7-9% over the past two years, a significant rise considering the ongoing problems in the telecom sector, stated CEO Hassan Kabbani.

Zain saw record-high revenues in Q1-16, Kabbani noted in a phone interview with Mubasher, adding that this rise was mainly due to growth in the internet sector.

The CEO attributed Zain’s recording of losses in Q1-16 to paying licence costs, amounting to SAR 900 million annually and are divided on each quarter.

He added that these cover a period of 25 years starting the date of issuing the licence.

It is expected that Zain will see growth in the volume of its investments in the coming period and will likely turn profitable soon, Kabbani stated.

Despite the ongoing issues in Saudi Arabia’s telecom sector, which are impacting telecom operators, Zain succeeded in achieving good growth rates whether in terms of revenue or expansion through acquisition, or in terms of subscriber numbers, the CEO highlighted.

As for the company’s restructure, Kabbani told Mubasher that Zain has succeeded in cutting its losses and achieving gross profit of SAR 1.1 billion.

The Saudi telecom operator also succeeded in achieving pre-EBITDA profits of SAR 1.6 billion, he added.

Earlier today, Zain posted a net loss of SAR 250 million ($66.6 million) in Q1-16, a decline of 3% from SAR 257 million ($68.53 million) recorded in the same period last year.

A revenue increase of 7% helped cut Zain’s losses year-on-year, with revenues reaching a record high of SAR 1.765 billion, the highest since the company’s establishment.

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi