Zain – Mubasher: Boursa Kuwait’s telecommunications sector enjoyed a positive performance in the fourth quarter of 2016, registering a year-on-year growth of 34%.

The sector includes four stocks, namely Mobile Telecommunications (Zain), Kuwait Telecommunication Co. (Viva), National Mobile Telecommunications (Ooredoo), and Hits Telecom Holding.

Combined profits for the four companies reached KWD 51.49 million ($168.5 million) in Q4-16, compared to KWD 38.43 million ($125.8 million) in the same period in the year before, according to statistics by Mubasher.

Annually, the sector’s profits grew 9% to KWD 237.8 million ($778.35 million) in 2016 from KWD 218.26 million ($714.4 million) in 2015.

Zain took up the lion’s share of Q4-16 and 2016 profits with KWD 32.23 million and KWD 156.7 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, Viva recorded the lowest profits on both levels after reporting KWD 10.76 million in Q4-16 and KWD 39.81 million in 2016.

On the other hand, Hits Telecom was the only company that suffered losses in the two periods, with KWD 5.97 million in Q4-16 and KWD 5.38 million in the full year 2016.

Ooredoo turned profitable in the last quarter of 2016 with KWD 14.47 million against KWD 1.44 million in losses in the same period the year before.

It also recorded the highest rise in profits, posting a 75% surge to KWD 46.67 million for the full year 2016, compared to KWD 26.67 million in 2015.

In terms of cash dividends, Ooredoo’s share got the highest after its shareholders approved an 85% cash dividend, while Viva’s was the lowest at 100 fils per share. Hits’ board has not decided whether or not it will distribute dividends.