BBN Report
DOHA (QATAR)/October 28-2020: Ooredoo Group has announced 16 per cent year on year increase in net profit for the 9-month period ending September 30, 2020, from QR1.27 billion to QR1.47 billion.
The profit for Q3, the three-month period, increased 53 per cent, from QR424 million to QR650 million.
Revenue down 3 pc
Revenue for 9M declined by 3 per cent year-on-year to QR21.4 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact, with a reduction in handset sales and roaming business as well as macroeconomic weakness in some of the company’s markets. The company said this was partially offset by growth in Indonesia.
Data revenues accounted for more than 50 per cent of total revenue driven by Ooredoo’s data leadership and digital transformation initiatives across the markets, where it operates in.
Ooredoo Group expanded its customer base by 3 per cent to 119 million customers, boosted by additions in Indonesia and Myanmar during the 9-monht period ending September 30, 2020.
New initiatives
Ooredoo Group launched a number of initiatives to support the communities in most need of assistance during the pandemic public health crisis, with a focus on the medical and education sectors.
Initiatives included donating ventilators, defibrillators, patient monitors and other emergency medical equipment to hospitals in Myanmar; donating laptops to students and providing access to online education portals and app-based learning solutions in Oman and Algeria.
Commenting on the results, Sheikh Faisal Bin Thani Al Thani, Chairman of Ooredoo, said, “Ooredoo Group has been fortunate to have a well-diversified business – across geography and customer composition – in addition to a strong balance sheet, which has helped us maintain resilience during these challenging times.”
Ooredoo expanded its customer base with the launch of new products such as Ooredoo Oman’s mobile wallet, Pay+, and Asiacell’s new mobile app, which has become the most downloaded app by a telecom operator in Iraq, etc.
