Saudi Telecom Co (STC) reported a 27.1 percent drop in its second-quarter net profit to $USD499 million (1.87 billion riyals) compared to $USD680 million (2.56 billion riyals) in the same period last year. The Operator said the overall results are positive as its revenue saw an increase of 11 percent.
The decline in the net profits which is a continuing trend for the Operator in six of the preceding seven quarters is mainly attributed to the increase in operating expenses due to higher sales and marketing costs, as well as general and administrative expenses.
However, in the three months to June 30, the Operator's Enterprise business unit overall revenues increased approximately 17% during the quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by the 30% increase in Business sector data services revenues compared to same period last year. Fixed broadband and FTTH customer base during the 2nd quarter increased 9% and 35% respectively compared to the same period last year.
In a move to reduce its operating expences, STC has recently signed an MoU with Mobily to jointly explore options for extracting value from their owned telecommunications towers.
Dr. Khaled H. Biyari, STC Group CEO
STC’s revenues from services for the 2nd quarter increased 11% and gross profit for the same period increased 3% compared to the comparable period last year. Therefore, we assure that STC will continue to expand its fixed & mobile networks and will continue to invest in its infrastructure to introduce new technologies for our individual, residential and business customers in order to reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction and enrich our customers’ experience.
