(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Driven mainly by its home market Qatar and operations in Indonesia, and Tunisia, Ooredoo Group earned half yearly revenue of QR14.5bn. Excluding foreign exchange (FX) impact, the group revenue increased by 5%, Ooredoo said on Wednesday.
Group EBITDA for H1, 2021 was QR6.4bn with a corresponding EBITDA margin of 44%, driven by growth in Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, Tunisia, and Algeria.
The EBITDA growth rate stood at 7% and at 10%, excluding FX impact.
Consolidated customer base increased by 1% due to growth in Indonesia, Oman and Iraq, offsetting the decline in other markets.
Group Net Profit attributable to shareholders turned negative due to impairments (QR2,341mn, mainly from Ooredoo Myanmar) partially offset by profit from the sale and leaseback of Indosat Ooredoo’s tower assets (QR1,000mn).
Excluding these one offs and FX impact, net profit increased by 52%, Ooredoo said.
Commenting on the results, Ooredoo chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Thani al-Thani said,“We had a good first half of the year, with a revenue increase of 3%, as we further progressed our digital strategy, whilst effectively managing our costs and overheads to support the growth of our business across our various markets. Consequently, our EBITDA margin improved to 44%, up from 42% for H1, 2020, despite the challenges presented to us due to Covid-19.
“Our response to the pandemic and our robust strategy enabled us to report solid operational and financial performance. The confidence of our customers resulted in an increase of our customer base by an additional one percent. We continue to focus on providing reliable connectivity and innovative products to our customers and are proud to be leading in this space.”
Ooredoo managing director Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo said,“The positive trend in 2021 is even stronger excluding the FX impact with revenue growth of 5% and EBITDA growth of 10%.
“Our net profit was impacted by an impairment of the operation in Myanmar due to the uncertain political environment. The loss was partially offset by gains from the Indonesian tower sale and leaseback. Excluding these one-offs and the FX impact, net profit increased by 52%.
“In Qatar, our home market, we recorded a strong performance with growth in terms of revenue (+5%) as well as EBITDA (+2%). Indosat Ooredoo continues to deliver robust results across the board, contributing significantly towards Group growth, with a 14% increase in revenue and an improved EBITDA margin of 50%.
“Cost control and efficiency measures resulted in a 13% improvement in EBITDA for Ooredoo Kuwait and 8% for Ooredoo Algeria.
“We recorded 8% more customers for Ooredoo Oman and 9% more customers for Asiacell, Iraq.
Ooredoo Tunisia recorded positive trends for revenue (+8%).
“Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about Ooredoo Group’s growth potential and we believe that we have made the right investments to continue delivering long term value for our shareholders, customers and countries in which we operate.”
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