Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), which had slashed 27 months of previously-reported earnings by nearly $1 billion, said on Tuesday it had swung to a profit in the first quarter.

Mobily, an affiliate of the UAE's Etisalat, made a net profit of SR16.6 million ($4.43 million) in the three months to March 31. This compares with a loss of SR44.5 million in the prior-year period, according to a bourse statement.

NCB Capital had forecast a net profit of SR201.1 million for the period, while EFG Hermes expected a net loss of SR4.59 million.

Mobily, which competes with Saudi Telecom Company and Zain Saudi, reported quarterly revenue of SR3.44 billion, versus SR3.66 billion a year earlier.

In July, 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.

These adjustments were made to fix accounting errors. In December, Saudi's market regulator referred a number of suspects to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution over the affair.

Mobily had attributed its woes to the premature booking of revenue from wholesale broadband leases and mobile promotional campaigns and it has also made further changes to the way it accounts for some contracts and the depreciation of property and equipment. - Reuters