Mobily posts SR18.8m net profit

Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) swung to a net profit in the second quarter, according to a statement on Tuesday, after not repeating a significant provision recorded in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Mobily, which had slashed 27 months of previously-reported earnings by nearly $1 billion, made a net profit of SR18.8 million in the three months to June 30. This compares with a loss of SR901 million in the prior-year period, according to a bourse statement.
Three analysts polled by Reuters had forecast Mobily, an affiliate of the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat, would make a quarterly net profit of SR52.5 million for the period.
Its return to profit was attributed to Mobily not repeating an SR800 million provision which it made in the second quarter of 2015, relating to a dispute with rival telecom operator Zain Saudi.
Reduced costs from a program to cut expenses also helped offset higher financial charges, the statement said.
Quarterly revenue fell 7.5 percent to SR3.29 billion though, which the company blamed on lower interconnection revenues from mobile termination rate changes introduced in April.
In July 2015, Mobily made the last in a series of earnings restatements that in total cut 27 months of profits to March 31, 2015, by SR3.63 billion.

Source: Arab News