KUWAIT: Zain, Kuwait’s No.1 telecom operator by subscribers, reported an 18 per cent fall in third-quarter profit on Sunday, extending a sustained earnings slump.
The former monopoly, which operates in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa, made a net profit of KD38 million ($125.50 million) in the three months to September 30, down from KD46 million ($152.21 million) in the year-earlier period, it said in a statement.
Two analysts polled by Reuters had forecast Zain would make a quarterly profit between KD37 million ($122 million) and KD46.1 million ($152.54 million).
The firm had posted falling profits in 10 of the preceding 12 quarters as tougher domestic competition, service interruptions and higher costs in war-torn Iraq and foreign exchange volatility weighed on the bottom line.
Third-quarter revenue was KD292 million ($966.19 million). This compares with KD294 million ($972 million) a year ago.
In Kuwait, Zain competes with Ooredoo Kuwait, a unit of Qatar’s Ooredoo, and Viva, an affiliate of Saudi Telecom Co (STC).