Batelco Q4 profit jumps 119pc

Batelco (BATELCO), the regional telecommunications group with operations across 14 countries, yesterday reported a 119 per cent jump in its fourth-quarter net profit attributable to equity holders of the company to BD4.1 million or (US$10.9m) from a BD21.7m (US$57.6m) net loss in the same quarter a year ago. The 2017 net profit, according to Batelco, was mainly impacted by impairment losses related to the Group’s investments in Yemen and Jordan. The board recommended a full year cash dividend of BD45.7m (US$121.2m), at a value of 27.5 fils per share to be agreed at the Group’s Annual General Meeting, of which 10 fils per share was already paid during the third quarter of 2018 with the remaining 17.5 fils to be paid following the AGM in March 2019.

Total comprehensive income attributable to equity holders of the company was BD4.6m (US$12.2m), an increase of 120pc from BD22.7m (US$60.2m) loss in Q4 2017. Earnings per share (EPS) is 2.4 fils for Q4 2018 compared to -13.1 fils in Q4 2017 Operating profit decreased by 29pc to BD12.3m (US$32.6m) from BD17.2m (US$45.6m) in Q4 2017. Operating profit is hurt mainly due to increased amortization charges on intangible assets. Revenues increased by 2pc over Q4 2017 from BD101.9m (US$270.3m) to BD104.4m (US$276.9m). Revenues have been positively bolstered by strong performance at Batelco Bahrain, Umniah in Jordan and Dhiraagu, the Group’s operation in the Maldives.

For the full year 2018, Net profits attributable to equity holders of the company stand at BD50.1m (US$132.9m) up from BD3.5m (US$9.3m) for the corresponding period in 2017, an increase of 1,335pc. Full year EPS was 30.1 fils compared to 2.1 fils for the corresponding period of 2017. Total comprehensive income attributable to equity holders of the company was BD43.3m (US$114.9m), an increase of 275pc from BD11.5m (US$30.5m) in 2017. Year-on-year operating profits have increased by 25pc to BD72.7m (US$192.8m) for 2018. Revenues increased by 7pc from BD379.4m (US$1,006.4m) in 2017 to BD405.9m (US$1,076.7m) in 2018.

Batelco Chairman Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said, “The results reflect the effectiveness of the Group’s overall strategic initiatives and we are delighted to witness the strong year-on-year growth in digital, Datacom and fixed broadband services across the Group.” Batelco Group CEO Ihab Hinnawi said that 2018 was a turnaround year for the Batelco Group supported by the ongoing rollout of the Group’s transformation strategy and key investments in targeted services, leading to a significant increase in shareholder return.

“We diversified our revenue sources to address the relentless impact of competition in our markets, particularly focusing on the acceleration of fibre implementation and data penetration and are pleased to report that Fixed Broadband is up by 10 per cent and Datacom services are up by 18pc across our markets of operation.” Batelco Bahrain Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Bubashait said: “Our successful investment strategy with a focus on crucial in-demand services has resulted in a significant improvement in performance over 2017 for Datacom and fixed Broadband services, with revenue growth up by 27pc for Datacom and by 15pc for fixed Broadband, fuelled by our fibre rollout.

Meeting the demand for faster internet services remains high on the agenda and the success of our fibre delivery has also attributed to a 13pc increase in Broadband customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” Looking ahead, Bubashait said Batelco will open a new Data Centre very soon, and plans are already in place to build a second Data Centre for Batelco at its Hamala headquarters.