Omani telecom operator Nawras, an Ooredoo company, posted a revenue of RO98.4 million ($254.8 million) for the first half of this year, an increase of 3.3 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

The growth is driven by increases in both fixed and mobile data revenues offset by decreases in SMS and national voice revenue, said a statement.

Net profit for the period was RO15.2 million compared with RO19.5 million in the same period of 2012. Net profit for the year is affected by lower EBITDA and higher depreciation cost due to network modernisation which is future-proofing the network with the latest technology, it said.

Total number of customers grew by 13.1 per cent to 2,294,563 at the end of the first half of 2013 compared to 2,028,102 for the same period in 2012.

The fixed service customer base grew by nearly 54 per cent as compared to the same period last year. Year-on-year, the mobile post-paid customer base also grew by 5.8 per cent during the period.

In addition, year to date, the mobile pre-paid customer base increased by 13 per cent to 2,052,260 customers compared to 1,815,846 customers at the end of H1 2012.

CEO Ross Cormack said: “We are delighted to announce that despite the challenges of a competitive environment, our total customer numbers have increased for the sixth consecutive quarter while at the same time we sustained our revenue growth during the period. Growth in revenue was driven by increases in both fixed and mobile data offset by a decrease in SMS and national voice revenue.”

“During the first half of 2013, we have already delivered a noticeable difference in the broadband Internet experience for our customers living and working in areas already completed as part of our Network Turbo charging programme.” - TradeArabia News Service