KUWAIT: National Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P - Ticker: OOREDOO, a member of Ooredoo Group, announced yesterday its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2017:

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors commented: "Despite a highly competitive environment, Ooredoo increased the customer base by 5 percent to reach 25 million, testament to the company's award-winning network, a wide range of competitive products and good customer service. Ooredoo grew profitability levels during Q1 2017, with Net Profit increasing by 27 percent to reach KD 13 million. Growth for the period was mainly supported by our performance in Ooredoo Algeria and Ooredoo Maldives.

"Driven by improved efficiency and cost optimization initiatives, Ooredoo increased EBITDA by 14 percent to reach KD 65 million and maintained a healthy EBITDA margin of 38 percent for the quarter ended 31 March 2017.

"Capitalizing on last year's launch of 4G and further expansion of the 3G network, Ooredoo Algeria increased its customer base to almost 14 million customers up by 5 percent over Q1 2016. Ooredoo Algeria also maintained a good grasp on operational efficiencies, increasing EBITDA by 14 percent to reach KD 33.4 million.

"Ooredoo Maldives delivered a strong set of results, increasing Revenues by 14 percent to reach KD 9.5 million and showed significant growth in profitability, with EBITDA up 20 percent to KD 5.6 million in Q1 2017. Ooredoo Maldives is well positioned to continue delivering growth as it is preparing to list on the local stock exchange at the end of this month."

Review of operations

The Group's operational performance can be summarized as follows:

Ooredoo - Kuwait

Ooredoo's customer base in Kuwait stood at 2.3 million at the end of Q1 2017, representing a 2 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2016. Revenues for Q1 2017 were KD 47.8 million, a decrease of 4 percent compared to KWD 50.0 million in 2016. EBITDA was KD 12.4 million versus EBITDA for Q1 2016 of KD 10.2 million.

Ooredoo - Tunisia

Ooredoo's Tunisia customer base stood at 8.0 million at the end of Q1 2017, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period in 2016. Revenues for Q1 2017 were KD 31.8 million compared to KWD 33.8 million in Q1 2016. However, in local currency terms revenue increased by 5 percent. EBITDA was KD 12.1 million compared to KD 11.4 million for the same period in 2016.

Ooredoo - Algeria

Ooredoo's customer base in Algeria increased to 13.9 million customers in Q1 2017, up by 5 percent compared with the same period in 2016. Revenues for Q1 2017 were KD 73.8 million compared to revenues of KD 76.9 million for the same period in 2016. EBITDA for Q1 2017 stood at KD 33.4 million, an increase of 14 percent on KD 29.2 million in Q1 2016.

Wataniya - Palestine

The total customer base for Wataniya Mobile Palestine at the end of Q1 2017 was 0.8 million, an increase of 10 percent from the same period in 2016. Revenues for Q1 2017 stood at KD 6.2 million, in line with the same quarter last year. EBITDA for Q1 2017 was KD 1.5 million compared to an EBITDA of KD 1.8 million for the same period in 2016.

Ooredoo - Maldives

At the end of Q1 2017 Maldives total customer base was 0.4 million, an increase of 11 percent from the same period in 2016. Revenues for Q1 2017 were KD 9.5 million, an increase of 14 percent compared to KD 8.3 million for the same period in 2016. EBITDA for Q1 2017 was KD 5.6 million, an increase of 20 percent compared to an EBITDA of KD 4.7 million for the same period in 2016.