Asiacell net profit up 31pc in 2012
Baghdad, May 2, 2013
Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell, majority-owned by Qatari telecom group Ooredoo, posted a 31-per cent rise in annual profit in its first results as a listed company, helped by an increase in customers and revenues.
Iraq's second-largest mobile operator said on Thursday it made a net profit of 662 billion dinars ($569 million) last year, on an 18 per cent rise in revenue to 2.17 trillion dinars.
Customer numbers increased by 12 percent to 10.1 million, helping to lift the firm's market share to 36 per cent from 35 per cent in 2011.
Asiacell's market debut in February was the first major flotation in Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. It doubled the market capitalisation of the Baghdad bourse and was the largest equity offer in the Middle East since 2008, raising $1.27 billion.
Domestic rivals Zain Iraq, a subsidiary of Kuwait's Zain and France Telecom affiliate Korek, are also due to list as a requirement to sell a quarter of their shares under the terms of their licences.
Asiacell shares are little changed from their flotation price of 22 Iraqi dinars.-Reuters
