Ooredoo Oman customer base grows 7% at 2.8 million

Muscat: Ooredoo Oman’s customer base increased to 2.8 million as at December 2015, representing a growth of 7 per cent growth in 2014.
Ooredoo Oman has the fastest home broadband services in the country following its migration to LTE during 2015, which will continue to be a factor in customer growth. Ooredoo’s LTE network is now covering the majority of households in the country. It also became integrated into the government’s broadband strategy during the year with a view to providing e-government services.
Meanwhile, the Ooredoo Group customers reached 117 million at the end of 2015, an increase of 9 per cent or 9.5 million net customer adds over 2014 driven by strong performances in Qatar, Indonesia, Myanmar, Oman, Algeria, Maldives and Palestine.
Group recorded revenue and Ebitda growth across its key markets in 2015 while overall performance was impacted by the security situation in Iraq and adverse currency movements in Indonesia, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Group revenue reached QAR32.2 billion in 2015 supported by strong revenue growth in local currency terms in Qatar, Oman, Indonesia, Myanmar, Algeria, Kuwait and the Maldives. Excluding foreign exchange translation impact, 2015 group revenue would have increased by 4 per cent year-on-year, compared to a decline of 3 per cent reported.
Group Ebitda increased by 1 per cent exceeding QAR 13 billion in 2015 with an improved Ebitda margin of 40 per cent. Excluding foreign exchange translation impact, 2015 group Ebitda would have increased by 8 per cent year-on-year indicating a strong underlying operational performance. Quarterly Ebitda increased by 11 per cent year-on-year to QAR 3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Group net profit to Ooredoo shareholders maintained at QAR 2.1 billion in 2015 driven by a strong Ebitda performance.
Group data revenues demonstrated robust growth during 2015 as Ooredoo enhanced network speeds and coverage across markets and focused on data package offerings to customers. Data revenue increased to QAR12 billion in 2015 and now represents 37 per cent of the group revenue compared to 25 per cent in 2014, confirming the success of Ooredoo’s early adoption strategy.
Commenting on the results, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, chairman of Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo Group delivered a strong performance in 2015 adding 9.5 million new customers and reaching a global customer base of 117 million. Despite currency volatility in emerging markets and the security situation in Iraq, our underlying financial and operational performance was solid. We grew revenue and EBITDA in local currency terms in our primary markets and continued to roll-out the Ooredoo brand across our footprint.
“Ooredoo plays a key role in connecting people as we shift to an increasingly interconnected world. Our ability to connect people, information and markets is playing an integral role in developing the economies of our markets,” he added.