Omani telecoms operator Nawras reported flat quarterly profits on Monday as subscriber numbers declined but revenues edged slightly higher.

The firm, majority owned by Qatar Telecommunications Company, made net profit of 11.9 million rials for the quarter ended Dec. 30, unchanged from the prior-year period.

Revenue in the quarter was 50.8 million rials, up from 49.9 million rials a year earlier, Nawras said in a statement.

Mobile and fixed subscribers numbers fell to 1.96 million at the end of 2011, down from 2.03 million in 2010.

Nawras said the fall in subscribers was "due to regulatory rule changes concerning the counting of prepaid mobile customer base as well as the reduction in the permissible number of SIM cards one person may hold."

The operator's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 4.3 percent year-on-year to 26.8 million rials.

Nawras's shares, which listed on the Oman bourse in November 2010, closed 0.3 percent higher before the results were announced.

Nawras and rival operator Oman Telecommunications are in talks with the Gulf state's regulator to be assigned coveted lower-frequency spectrum to aid surging demand for mobile data.-Reuters