Ooredoo Group announced Revenue of QAR 14 billion and Net Profit of QAR 818 million in H1 2020

Ooredoo Group announced Revenue of QAR 14 billion and Net Profit of QAR 818 million in H1 2020.

Revenue declined by 3% year-on-year to QAR 14.1 billion due to the COVID-19 impact. A reduction in handset sales and roaming business, as well as macroeconomic weakness in some of our markets, was partially offset by robust growth in Indonesia, Tunisia, and Myanmar.

EBITDA declined by 5% year-on-year to QAR 6.0 billion, impacted by movement restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in our markets as well as challenging market conditions in Algeria, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman.

Group Net Profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders declined by 3% to QAR 818 million in H1 2020, compared to the same period last year, due to the reduction in EBITDA which was partially offset by a more favorable Foreign Exchange environment compared to the same period last year.

Data revenues account for more than 50% of the total revenue driven by our data leadership and digital transformation initiatives across the countries we operate in. Photo Source http://www.ooredoo.com

Ooredoo Group has healthy cash reserve and liquidity levels to be able to absorb the impact of COVID-19 for the year 2020.

Ooredoo Group enabled more people to work, study and socialize from home, with its customer base increasing by 2% to 117 million customers, boosted by additions in Myanmar and Qatar during H1 2020.

Ooredoo Group continued to demonstrate its global leadership in 5G commercial deployment, with Ooredoo Oman being the latest to launch 5G Home Internet, enabling customers to experience connectivity up to 10 times faster than current home internet services and bringing high-speed internet access to new areas of the country.

In Qatar, Ooredoo reached a milestone of half a million mobile postpaid customers, while its 5G plans, launched in December 2019, have attracted more than 200,000 customers.

Ooredoo Group maintained its world ranking in the 2020 edition of the Telecoms 300 report, as one of the top 50 global telecommunications brands for the fourth year in a row, with a brand value worth over USD 3.5 billion. It also maintained its Brand Rating status of AA+ for the second consecutive year.

Ooredoo Group, with its strong balance sheet and geographically diversified operations, has built a resilient business to successfully navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to our strong digital capabilities, and innovative technology, Ooredoo Group was able to partially contain the erosion in its bottom line, despite the decline in revenues. Consequently, Ooredoo Group reported Net Profits of QAR 818 million for the first half of 2020, which were slightly down compared to the same period last year.

Digital transformation and technology continue to be a driving force for Ooredoo Group and our early investments in this area have enabled us to seamlessly respond to the new operating environment and serve our customers in a safe and convenient way. To accommodate the steep growth in data traffic during the pandemic, we are continuously optimizing data traffic flows across our fixed and mobile networks. Additionally, experience sharing and cross-OpCo collaboration activities were implemented to help reduce the required resources and time to market. Photo Source http://www.ooredoo.com

Group EBITDA declined 5% to QAR 6.0 billion during H1 2020, compared to the same period last year, due to declining revenue and challenging market conditions in Algeria, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman. Across all our OpCos we remain committed to carefully optimizing costs and driving operational efficiencies.

In our home market of Qatar, our post-paid customer base crossed the half a million mark and the 5G plans launched in December attracted over 200,000 customers already.

In Kuwait and Oman, we have partnered with the respective Ministry of Education to launch e-learning platforms from home for the upcoming school year 2020–2021. With digitalization at our core, we continue to invest in new products and services to power the future of connectivity. In Oman, we launched 5G Home Internet which enables customers to experience connectivity up to 10 times faster than the current home internet services, while bringing high-speed internet access to new areas of the country, and in Algeria, we continue to operate the fastest 4G network in the country spanning all 48 Wilayah.

Ooredoo’s Q2 2020 financial statements will be available on its website, accessible at http://www.ooredoo.com.