Riyadh – Mubasher: Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) on Wednesday said its net loss increased by 4.13% to 158.83% year-on-year during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The company's losses amounted to SAR 181.7 million in Q4-17, compared to SAR 70.2 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Saudi Arabia's second-largest mobile telephone operator attributed the rise in its year-on-year net losses to unblocking most of VoIP applications, the reduction of the interconnection rates in 2016 and 2017. The company also highlighted intensity competition, the decrease in data prices and the erosion in customers base.

Over the course of the last year, Mobily’s net losses surged to SAR 708.9 million compared to SAR 213.6 million in 2016.