­Cairo – Mubasher: Telecom Egypt achieved consolidated net profits of EGP 3.53 billion during the first nine months of 2020, up by 3% year-on-year (YoY) from EGP 3.42 billion.

Normalising for the employees’ retirement plan (ERP) cost, foreign exchange, VIS sale, and impairments during the January-September period, the company’s net profits would have grown by 21% YoY, according to a bourse disclosure on Thursday.

Revenues increased by 18% to EGP 22.34 billion in the nine-month period ended 30 September from EGP 19.01 billion in the year-ago period, “driven by a 31C% YoY hike in retail revenue boosted by strong data growth.”

Fixed voice and broadband customers grew by 9% and 16% YoY, respectively, while mobile customers surged by 55% to 7.1 million.

As for standalone business, the telecom operator logged net profits of EGP 1.85 billion in the January-September period, down from EGP 5.4 billion in the year-ago period.

During the first half (H1) of 2020, Telecom Egypt reported net profits of EGP 2.061 billion, down from EGP 2.127 billion in H1-19, including minority shareholders’ rights.