Mobile operator Ooredoo Kuwait reported a 28 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit on Monday, continuing its earnings slump as revenue fell.

The subsidiary of Qatar's Ooredoo competes domestically with Zain and Saudi Telecom Co (STC) affiliate Viva Kuwait.

Ooredoo Kuwait made a net profit of KD9.07 million ($29.98 million) in the three months to June 30, it said in a statement. This compares with a profit of KD12.6 million in the same period last year.

The company had reported falling earnings in six of the previous eight quarters, which included a loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 as stiff domestic competition and foreign exchange losses in Algeria and Tunisia hammered its bottom line.

Second-quarter revenue was KD175.6 million, versus KD184.8 million a year earlier.

The group also saw half yearly earnings dip 2 per cent, reporting KD350.8 million compared to KD359.1 million in H1 2015.
However, H1 net profit jumped 30 per cent, from KD14.8 million in H1 2015 to KD19.3 million this H1.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, chairman of Ooredoo Kuwait, said: Ooredoo Kuwait generated good levels of profitability during the first half of the year. We have also grown our customer base by over 2 per cent to reach almost 25 million despite some the pressures the business faced during the period.

Growth was driven by postpaid wireless and wireless broadband customers, which resulted in revenue increasing by nearly 10% and an a near 4% improvement in EBITDA." - Reuters