Ooredoo Q.S.C Full Year 2013 Results: Group revenue increases 1.1% to QAR 33.9 billion; Board of Directors Recommends a Cash Dividend of 40% of the Nominal Share Value Ooredoo Q.S.C. - Ticker: ORDS.QA today announced results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2013. •Earnings per share for the Full Year 2013 stood at QAR 8.05 (FY 2012: QAR 9.89) •Group revenue increased 1.1%. Strong performances in Qatar, Algeria and Iraq were partially offset by competitive dynamics and challenging economic environment in Kuwait and Tunisia. Indosat had robust revenue results in local currency although impacted by currency depreciation. Normalised FY13 and Q4’13 net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders (excluding currency loss, one-off tower sale gain in Q3’12 in Indosat and start-up cost in Myanmar) stood at QAR 3,342 million (up 16% v FY12) and QAR 641 million (down 11% v Q4’12) respectively. Group EBITDA and EBITDA margin were impacted by currency depreciation, Myanmar start-up costs, investment into Kuwait’s recovery strategy and global brand roll-out •Ooredoo Algeria successfully launched widest 3G service network in Algeria in December. Wataniya Kuwait delivering on recovery strategy in highly competitive market: improving Q3’13 v Q4’13 EBITDA, EBITDA margin and net profit trends. Divestment of Bravo “Push-to-Talk” operator to STC post-period •Positive progression in Myanmar network roll-out plans with official award of licence post-period: Ooredoo Myanmar planning to launch 3G only services within six months. •Ooredoo global brand roll-out successfully completed in Algeria, Tunisia and Maldives, following on from the launch of Ooredoo in Qatar earlier in the year, •Successful launch of inaugural US$1.25 billion sukuk: four times over-subscribed. As at 31 December 2013, the Group’s consolidated customer base stood at 96.0 million (FY 2012: 92.9 million), representing year-on-year growth of 3.5 percent. Group revenue for the Full Year 2013 improved by 1.1% to QAR 33.9 billion (FY 2012: QAR 33.5 billion). Group EBITDA for the period was down by 6% to QAR 14.6 billion (FY 2012: QAR 15.6 billion) and EBITDA margin was also down to 43% (FY 2012: 47%) due to the adverse currency impact of the Indonesian Rupiah, Myanmar start-up costs, brand roll out cost and the Group’s investment into Kuwait’s recovery strategy. Net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders for the year was QAR 2.6 billion (FY 2012: QAR 2.9 billion). Commenting on the results, His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of Ooredoo said:“Ooredoo has produced solid revenue growth in 2013 a year in which the Group faced challenges as well as opportunities. Across our portfolio our focus remains on delivering the best customer experience and the most reliable networks. This commitment is helping to drive our business growth, which we have seen this year in markets such as Algeria where we launched the widest 3G network in the country, in our home market in Qatar, and Myanmar where we are planning to launch the country’s best 3G network later this year. We believe that communication technology can transform people’s lives, and that is what we intend to do across our global footprint as we continue to invest in building mobile broadband networks. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to recommend to the General Assembly the distribution of a cash dividend of 40 percent of the nominal share value (QAR 4 per share).” Also commenting on the results Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo said:“Ooredoo faced a range of competitive challenges across its markets during the course of 2013. However, our strategic investment into the continual improvement of our networks, customer experience, products and services, distribution and branding saw some notable successes and improving trends across our portfolio. We continue to offer the best network experience for customers in each of our markets, delivering 4G services in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the Maldives during 2013, while also launching 3G services in Tunisia and Algeria. Ooredoo Algeria delivered strong revenue and EBITDA growth, with Ooredoo Qatar and Nawras also performing well. Indosat secured good customer growth and is seeing increasing mobile data traffic and revenue in its modernised network. Wataniya Kuwait now has the market’s leading next generation network and it is beginning to win back market share and perform financially in a highly competitive market. Asiacell performed well with strong growth in customer numbers despite the increasing levels of competition in Iraq. We have also made significant progress in our plans to launch Myanmar’s leading mobile data network: a market which offers exciting growth opportunities in the coming years. We expect the competitive nature of our markets to continue in 2014 but our strategic investment means that Ooredoo remains well positioned to generate long-term value for our shareholders and customers.” Ooredoo will publish its Full Year 2013 financial statements on its website, accessible at: ooredoo.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 05:55:21 +0000
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