Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) posted a 66.9-percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit to about 9.744 million rials ($25.31 million) as it booked impairment losses related to a Pakistani investment.

Omantel's full-year net profit attributable to shareholders rose 4.2 percent to 116.714 million rials compared with 112.032 million rials in 2007, Omantel said in a statement, without giving quarterly data, which Reuters calculated from previous financial statements.

Omantel said it booked 18.88 million rials of impairment losses on investments in its Worldcall Telecom Ltd unit.

Two analysts had forecast Omantel would post quarterly profit of 33.8 million rials and 35.8 million rials in a Reuters net profit survey last month.

Omantel earned 106.97 million rials in the first nine months of 2008 and 29.46 million rials in the fourth quarter of 2007. - Reuters