Zain Saudi Q3 Net Loss Narrows, But Misses Forecasts

Zain Saudi, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest telecoms operator, reported a narrowing loss for the third quarter on Sunday, missing analysts’ forecasts, as its customer base rose by nearly a quarter.

It said in a bourse statement it made a net loss of SAR421 million ($112 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of SAR493 million a year ago.

Five analysts polled by Reuters on average had forecast Zain Saudi would make a quarterly loss of SAR339 million.

The company has yet to make a quarterly profit since launching operations in 2008, but has taken significant steps to ease its debt burden this year, in July extending a $2.3 billion Islamic loan facility at a lower profit rate.

It also agreed a deal with the government in June that would allow it to defer payment of licence-related fees, which could total around $1.49 billion over seven years, and appointed industry veteran Hassan Kabbani as chief executive in September.

Quarterly revenue rose by seven per cent to SAR1.57 billion from SAR1.53 billion a year ago. The company attributed its better performance to the 24 per cent growth of its customer base and a 37 per cent jump in data traffic.

Zain Saudi added in its statement that it had reduced its operating expenses by 22 per cent compared to a year ago.