Sunday, 5 August 2012

Qtel strategy pays off despite profits fall - The National

Strategic expansions at Qatar Telecom (Qtel) are reaping higher revenues even though a boost to the company's bottom line is yet to materialise.

Qatar's biggest telecommunications company reported quarterly net profits of 640.7 million Qatari riyals in its latest earnings statement, a dip of 11.2 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier. The results beat analysts' estimates despite the dip.

Foreign-exchange losses were again Qtel's Achilles heel with the depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah and the Algerian dinar weighing on earnings. Profits have fallen during three out of the past four quarters. A change of strategy for Qtel this year has seen it seek out opportunities in new markets and expand its range of services including business-to-business services, e-finance and mobile health, which has led to increased capital expenditure. There is evidence the new plan is working. During the second quarter, revenues rose to 8.3 billion riyals, a 4.6 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier.

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