Saudi’s Mobily Set To Slash Dividends After Earnings Scandal

Tuesday’s price of SAR35.30 per share means around $13 billion has been wiped off Mobily’s market value since May.

Saudi’s Mobily Says Chairman Quits, Appoints Replacement

Abdulaziz al-Saghyir quit due to health reasons, but will remain on Mobily’s board, the company said.

Ooredoo Kuwait Blames FX Losses, Higher Costs As Q4 Profit Wiped Out

The company’s 2014 annual profit was KD45.7 million, down from KD76.1 million in 2013.

Etisalat-Owned Maroc Telecom’s 2014 Profit Up 5.6%

Increased revenues from its African subsidiaries helped the company post a strong profit.

Saudi Telecoms Regulator Cuts Call Connection Fees By 40%

The move is seen as mostly benefiting Zain Saudi, the smallest of the Kingdom’s three mobile network operators.

Bahrain’s Batelco Names Hinnawi Acting CEO After Whelan Departure

Ihab Hinnawi had been chief executive of Jordan’s Umniah, an operator which is 96 per cent owned by Batelco.

UAE Telco Du Q4 Net Profit Falls 10%

The firm made a net profit of Dhs512.7 million in the last quarter of 2014, down from Dhs570.3 million in the year-earlier period.

Etisalat’s Egypt Unit Signs $120m Loan

HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, will each provide $60 million each to Etisalat Misr.

Bahrain’s Batelco Q4 Net Profit Rises 22%

The former monopoly has now posted rising profits in four of the past six quarters.

Omantel Says Board Proposes Paying Cash Dividend Of 75%

The proposed cash amount, for which no timeframe was given but which is in line with what the company paid for the second half of 2013.

Omantel Q4 Net Profit Falls 11%

The former monopoly made a net profit of 26.5 million rials ($68.8 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Saudi Mobily’s Acting CEO Says To Stay At Least Until March-End

Okandan, who is also CFO of Mobily’s biggest shareholder, UAE-based Etisalat, took temporary charge in late November.

Pakistan Seeks Settlement With Etisalat In $800m Dispute

An Etisalat-led consortium in 2005 bought a $2.6 billion stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Co but withheld $800 million because of some incomplete deal terms.

Kuwait’s Zain Q4 Net Profit Drops 35%, Misses Estimates

The former monopoly, which operates in eight countries in the MEA, made a net profit of KD33 million in the three months to Dec. 31.

Kuwaiti Telecom Group Zain May Sell Transmitter Towers

A source familiar with the matter said that Citigroup had been hired to look into options for Zain’s towers.

Zain Saudi Gets Regulator Nod For Second Capital Cut

The company has yet to make a quarterly profit since launching service in 2008.

Kuwait’s Zain Says Iraq Court Rejects $4.5bn Claim Against Firm

Unnamed claimants filed a lawsuit against Zain over its 2007 acquisition of an Iraqi telecom operator.

Saudi Firm Mobily Rings Up Surprise Loss

Mobily made a net loss of SAR2.28 billion ($607.1 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Zain Saudi Q4 Net Loss Narrows, Beats Forecasts

The company has yet to make a quarterly profit since launching services in 2008.

UAE Appoints Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri As TRA’s Director General

Al Mansouri was previously director general of the UAE mGovernment and the deputy director general of the TRA.

Saudi Telecom Appoints Khalid Bin Hussain Biyari As CEO

Biyari’s current roles include senior vice president for technology and operations, and vice chairman of affiliate Viva Kuwait.

Saudi Telecom Posts 32.6% Q4 Net Profit Slump, Raises Dividend

The firm made a net profit of SAR2.44 billion ($649.8 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Ooredoo Kuwait Says Wins Court Appeal Against $125m Fine

The ministry fined Ooredoo Kuwait, claiming that it had been unlawfully using government network infrastructure since 1999,

Bahraini Telco Viva Eyes Data Growth As Per-User Call Income Falls

Voice calls accounted for 64 per cent of the operators’ revenues in 2013, data was 18 per cent, text messaging four per cent and subscription payments 14 per cent in Bahrain.

Qatar To See Boost In Mobile Internet Speeds As Ooredoo Launches 4G+

The network will deliver speeds of up to 225 Mbps, nearly double the average 4G speed in certain parts of Doha.

Zain Saudi Rejects Mobily’s $586m Claim

The operator said it owed Mobily only SAR13 million.

Saudi Telco Mobily Says Seeks Arbitration On Money Owed By Zain Saudi

Zain Saudi owed Mobily SAR2.2 billion as of Nov. 30, 2013, a statement said.

Vodafone Qatar Scraps Bid For Broadband Firm

In October, Vodafone Qatar announced it had reached a non-binding agreement to buy QNBN.

Bahrain’s Batelco Hires Citigroup To Sell Jordan Unit

The Bahraini telecom operator paid $416.2 million for a 96 per cent stake in Umniah in 2006.

Saudi’s Mobily Suspends CEO After Earnings Debacle

Errors in Mobily’s accounting led the company to restate 18 months of previously-announced earnings, wiping out $381 million of prior profits.