By IANS,
Dubai : Qatar Telecom (Qtel), Qatar’s exclusive telecommunication services provider, has announced record profits for the second quarter of 2008 ending June 30.
The company posted net profits of 655 million Qatari riyals ($180 million), an increase of 59 percent from the same period last year, according to a Qtel statement.
“We have continued to make excellent progress towards our strategic goals this period, reporting record profits as well as making an important acquisition,” Qtel chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani said in the statement.
“We are pleased to have delivered another strong three months’ gain in group revenue, EBITDA (earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) and net profit,” he added.
In the first six months of 2008 to June 30, Qtel’s revenue grew 102 percent to 8.1 billion Qatari riyals ($2.2 billion) compared to 4.01 billion Qatari riyals ($1.1 billion) in the same period last year.
EBITDA increased 92 percent in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period last year, to stand at 4.04 billion Qatari riyals ($1.11 bilion).
The group’s net profit attributable to the shareholders stood at 1.18 billion Qatari riyals ($324.2 million) for the first half of 2008, an increase of 33 percent over the same period last year.
“During this period we also completed our $1.8-billion acquisition of 40.81 percent of PT Indosat, one of Indonesia’s leading telecom companies, establishing a strong presence for the group in that country,” Al-Thani said.
Stating that the company’s revenue mix has changed with the change in its operational footprint, he said: “Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Indonesia (post acquisition) now represent our six largest markets by revenue, contributing 32 percent, 19 percent, 15 percent, 10 percent, eight percent and seven percent to group revenue respectively.”
One of the largest public companies in Qatar, Qtel is listed on the Doha, London, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges.