Vodafone Qatar Reports Narrower Q1 Loss

Vodafone Qatar, an affiliate of Vodafone Group, reported a narrower quarterly loss on Tuesday, thanks to an increase in subscribers and higher consumer spending.

Vodafone, which ended Qatar Telecom’s domestic monopoly in 2009, made a first quarter net loss of 118.3 million riyals ($32.49 million) in the three months to June 30. That compares with a loss of 122.3 million riyals in the year-earlier period. The operator’s financial year starts on April 1.

Oneanalyst forecast a quarterly loss of 120 million riyals, in a Reuters poll.

Quarterly revenue was 350.5 million riyals, up from 290.6 million riyals a year ago.

Vodafone Qatar launched post-paid contract services in June, which the operator hopes will help woo subscribers from Qatar Telecom and improve margins. Customers on post-paid contracts are typically wealthier and spend more on telecoms as well as being less likely to switch operators.

Vodafone had 878,200 mobile customers as of June 30, up 16 per cent from a year earlier.First-quarter average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric for telecoms, was 122 riyals, up 5 per cent year-on-year.