Ooredoo Group Q1 2016 reported revenue of QAR 7.9 bn

Operational Highlights:

• Ooredoo Group’s customer base reached 118 million at the end of the first quarter, a 6% or 7 million year-on-year increase, driven by strong acquisitions in Myanmar, Indonesia, Algeria and Qatar.
• Group revenue reached QAR 7.9 billion in Q1 2016 supported by strong revenue growth in Oman, Indonesia, Myanmar, Kuwait and the Maldives. Excluding Foreign Exchange translation impact, Q1 2016 Group revenue would have increased by 1% YoY, compared to reported decline of 2%.
• Group EBITDAwas marginally lower by 1% exceeding QAR 3 billion in Q1 2016 with a stable EBITDA margin of 40%. Excluding Foreign Exchange translation impact, Q1 2016 Group EBITDA would have increased by 3% YoY, indicating a good underlying operational performance.
• Group Net Profit to Ooredoo shareholders escalated significantly by 75% to QAR 879 million mainly due to positive Foreign Exchange impact in Indonesia and Myanmar.Excluding the Foreign Exchange impact and one-off gains from investments, Net Profit would have been in line with the previous year.
• Data revenue increased further and covers now 38% of total Group revenue (Q1 2015: 30%) due to Ooredoo’s focus on network expansion and modernisation and its strategy of marketing innovative data services for individuals and businesses. Revenue from data contributed QAR 3 billion in the first quarter of 2016.​
• B2B revenue stood at QAR 1.4billion reflecting Ooredoo’s investment in services for business customers.
• Continued portfolio optimisation‎: sale of wi-tribe Pakistan finalisedin March 2016.​
• Ooredoo Tunisia obtained a 4G license and launched in March 2016joining other Ooredoo Group 4G markets including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Maldives and Indonesia.​
• Ooredoo Kuwait is in the process of acquiring “FASTtelco”, a Kuwaiti company operating as an Internet Service Provider, with the aim for both companies to offer the full scope of advanced fixed broadband and mobile services (pending regulatory approvals).
• In February 2016,Ooredoo Myanmar secured USD 300 million funding from the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation for network rollout.

Commenting on the results, H.E. Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo has delivered solid results to start the year.Our diverse range of services attracted 7 million new customers and we now have 118 million customers globally.Revenue and EBITDA grew in local currency terms demonstrating the strength of our underlying business. Reported Net Profit was up by 75%, benefitting this quarter from favourable Foreign Exchange rates in Myanmar and Indonesia. We have streamlined our portfolio with the sale of wi-tribe Pakistan and are concentrating on our core technologies. We have invested in the Ooredoo networks to ensure we can provide customers with the fastest, most reliable digital communication services and deliver value for its shareholders. Ooredoo plays a crucial role in connecting and developing the citizens of the emerging economies where we operate as we position ourselves as a leading digital provider for our customers.”

Also commenting on the results, H.E. Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo said: “The first three months of 2016 demonstrated robust performances in our key markets of Qatar, Oman, Indonesia and Myanmar.Our results have been impacted by the challenges in Iraq due to the security situation as well as the sustained economic slowdown in Tunisia. However,in Tunisia we maintained our market leadership position andhave launched 4G services last month. Ooredoo Algeria has submitted a 4G license bid earlier this month.Indosat Ooredoo is enjoying very good traction with the recently launched 4G network, growing both Revenue and EBITDA in double digits in local currency terms. Revenue in Kuwait has been increasing and in order to serve our customers with a full scope of advanced fixed broadband and mobile services, we are in the process of acquiring a Kuwaiti Internet Service Provider. Ooredoo Oman and Ooredoo Maldives have been performing extremely well, growing double digits in terms of Revenue, EBITDA and Net Profit.”

Operational Review

Middle East

Ooredoo Qatar

Ooredoo Qatar delivered a positive performance in the first quarter of 2016. Customer number reached 3.5 million, a 6% increase over last year’s first quarter. Revenue reached almost QAR 2 billion in line with the same period last year. EBITDA stood at QAR 941 million for Q1 2016, marginally below Q1 2015 (QAR 980 million) and Net Profit was QAR 484 million, 1% higher than Net Profit in Q1 2015 (QAR 481 million). Building on its leadership position, Ooredoo Qatar launched a new digital premium television service, Ooredoo TV, in February 2016. The new service is the region’s first commercial 4K TV offering, combining apps, on-demand and live television in one box and taking home entertainment in Qatar to a new level.

The company also continued to enhance its offering for the business segment in Qatar, delivering on-going growth for its Ooredoo Mobile Money payroll service, which supports companies across the country. In addition, Ooredoo entered into an agreement with Microsoft to resell the software giant's Office 365-based cloud solutions to customers in Qatar and market a new set of business devices. Ooredoo continued with its “OoredooSupernet” network enhancement programme throughout the first quarter, successfully piloting Voice over LTE (VoLTE) across a substantial part of its nationwide network ahead of the service’s commercial launch later in the year.            

Ooredoo Oman

Ooredoo Oman delivered strong results for the first quarter of the year, recording double-digit growth in terms of Revenue, EBITDA and Net Profit. Ooredoo’s modern network attracted 3% more customers year-on-year to reach 2.8 million customers. Revenue increased by 11% to QAR 646 million, compared with QAR 582 million in Q1 2015, driven by higher prepaid data and voice revenues. EBITDA also increased, up 11% to QAR 354 million (Q1 2015: QAR 320 million) due to higher revenue and customer numbers. Net Profit increased by 18% to QAR 120 million from QAR 101 million in Q1 2015.

Ooredoo Kuwait

Ooredoo Kuwait Q1 revenue was QAR 604 million, increasing by double digits (11%) compared to QAR 545 million in Q1 2015. EBITDA increased 3% to QAR 124 million compared to QAR 120 million in Q1 2015, benefiting from higher revenue partially offset by higher customer acquisition cost.Ooredoo’s customer base in Kuwait stood at 2.4 million (Q1 2015: 2.5 million). Ooredoo Kuwait reported a Net Profit of QAR 29 million, a 21% decrease (Q1 2015: QAR 37 million)primarily due to higher taxes on consolidated income.

In March 2016, Ooredoo Kuwait entered into an agreement to purchase 99% of internet service provider FASTtelco for KD 11 million (pending regulatory approvals). This agreement is in line with the company’s commitment to delivering customers with best in class services and will allow access to the full scope of advanced fixed broadband and mobile services. As the largest retail network in the country, this agreement builds on Ooredoo’s Kuwait competitive advantage after it became the first telecom operator to launch 4G+ during 2015.

Asiacell - Iraq

Asiacell continued to be impacted by the security situation, a deteriorating economic environment and a decrease of customer purchasing power in Iraq.Revenue stood at QAR1,076 million, down 15% compared with QAR 1,266 million in Q1 2015, impacted by lower customer spending and a 4% depreciation of the Iraqi Dinar. EBITDA decreased 9% from QAR 538 million (Q1 2015) to QAR490million (Q1 2016). The relatively lower drop in EBITDA compared to Revenue is reflecting a continued focus on cost efficiencies resulting in improved EBITDA margins(Q1 2016: 46% and Q1 2015: 42%). Net Profit stood at QAR 31 million in Q1 2016 (Q1 2015 QAR 49 million). 

Asiacell’s customer base decreased to 10.7 million from 11.2 million year-on-year, though over the last months it has been more stable. Asiacell continues to see an increase in data revenue following its launch of 3G services in  2015, in a market still largely driven by voice services. Asiacell enhanced its sales channels in new areas and continues to make progress in recovering its network in liberated areas.

North Africa

Ooredoo Algeria

Ooredoo’s customer base in Algeria at the end of Q1 2016 was 13.2 million customers, up by 4% compared to Q1 last year. The Algerian Dinar depreciated by 14% compared with the same period last year, significantly impacting the results reported in QAR.  In local currency terms Revenue increased by 6% and EBITDA was up by 12%for Q1 2016. Reported Revenue for Q1 of 2016 was QAR 928 million, a decrease of 8% compared with Q1 2015.Reported EBITDA was QAR 353 million, a decrease of 3% over the same period in 2015. Ooredoo Algeria reported a Net Profit of QAR 77 million, compared with a Net Loss of QAR 62 million for the same period in 2015 due to the positive impact of debt refinancing from USD into Algerian Dinar last year. Ooredoo continues to be the clear market leader in Algeria in terms of 3G and data services.

Ooredoo Tunisia

Ooredoo Tunisia was awarded a 4G license in March 2016 and launched 4G services in 24 governorates in March. The expansion of LTE services will further drive the acceleration of mobile data revenue. Ooredoo Tunisia maintained its market leadership position with a customer base increasing by 1% to7.5million.

However the security situation in Tunisia is still a challenge for the economy and the results in QAR are also impacted by the depreciation of the Tunisian Dinar, which is 5% lower than in Q1 2015.Revenuewas QAR408 million, 9% lower compared to QAR 446 million in Q1 2015.EBITDA was QAR138million for Q1 2016 compared to QAR186 million in 2015, a 26% decrease. Net Profit was QAR 7 million, compared with QAR 34 million in the same period in 2015.

Asia

Indosat Ooredoo– Indonesia

IndosatOoredoo delivered strong growth for the quarter, driven by data revenue. Revenue increased by 6% to QAR 1,837 million compared to QAR 1,732 million in Q1 2015. The company delivered strong EBITDA growth of 8% to QAR 848 million (Q1 2015: QAR 786 million), with EBITDA margin also improving by one percentage point to 46%.In local currency terms both Revenue (+12%) and EBITDA (+14%) showed double digit growth. IndosatOoredoo reported Net Profit of QAR 69 million compared with a Net Loss of QAR 121 million in Q1 2015, reflecting operational improvements and a stabilization of the Indonesian Rupiah.

Indosat Ooredoo increased its customer base by 5% to 69.8 million compared with 66.5 million in the first quarter of 2015 with customers being attracted by its modern network and innovative product offers. Indosat Ooredoo’s 4G network is now available in over 20 cities, covering a population of more than 40 million

Following its rebrand to IndosatOoredoo in November2015, the company is focused on improving its brand awareness to become the leading digital telco provider in Indonesia.

Ooredoo Myanmar

Ooredoo Myanmar continued to build its customer base as it rolled out its network.It recorded healthy quarterly gross additions and now has 6.9 million customers compared with 3.4 million customers in Q1 2015.

The company continued to deliver strong revenue growth, up 42% to QAR 334 million from QAR 236 million in Q1 2015 driven by continued growth of data business. EBITDA stood at QAR 9 million compared with a negative EBITDA of QAR 25 million in Q1 2015. The appreciation of the local Myanmar currency against the USD positively impacted Ooredoo Myanmar’s Net Profit. It reported its first Net Profit since launching operations in August 2014 at QAR 190 million compared with a Net Loss of QAR 154 million in Q1 2015.

Ooredoo’sQ1 2016 financial statementswill be available on its website, accessible at: http://www.ooredoo.com.