Muscat, 29 January 2015- Net Profit up 14.5% and Revenues 12.1%

Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG ("Ooredoo") today announced preliminary unaudited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2014.

Service options
Three months ended 31 December (RO) Full year performance comparison
2014 2013 Change
% 		2014 2013 Change %


Revenue (OMR m) 60.3 52.8 14.2% 226.4 202.0 12.1%
EBITDA (OMR m) 29.0 27.2 6.6% 116.9 98.3 18.9%
NP (OMR m) 8.3 10.0 -17.0% 37.9 33.1 14.5%
Mobile and Fixed Customers (000') 2,602 2,397 8.6%

Key Messages

Total revenues for the year 2014 grew by 12.1% to OMR 226.4 million compared with OMR 202.0 million in 2013. The growth is driven by increases in both mobile and fixed data revenue as well as international voice revenue.

EBITDA for the year 2014 was OMR 116.9 million compared with OMR 98.3 million in 2013 driven by higher revenue.

Net profit for the year was OMR 37.9 million compared to OMR 33.1 million in 2013. Net profit for the year increased by 14.5% due to improvement in EBITDA partially offset by higher depreciation due to the investment in network modernisation and expansion and rebranding cost (especially in Q4).

Total number of customers grew by 8.6% in 2014 from 2,396,826 to 2,601,704.

The fixed service customer base decreased by 10.3% to 57,654 customers in 2014 compared to 64,287 in 2013. This is due to the transition period where a new Home Broadband technology that will bring improved services to our customers being rolled out. The mobile post-paid customer base grew by 4.9% to 196,142 customers compared with 186,917 customers in 2013. The mobile pre-paid customer base for 2014 increased by 9.4% to 2,347,908 compared to 2,145,622 for the same period last year.

Commenting on the result Chairman's comment:

"This breakthrough year saw a very strong financial performance, the flawless transition from Nawras to the global brand, Ooredoo, and further technological advances which have transformed us into a world-class operator, and helped consolidate Oman's growing status as a regional economic force.

The considerable financial commitment involved in modernising our network since 2012 has been justified by opening up exciting possibilities for new products and services that are fulfilling customers' expectations and matching their needs.

The resulting extra capacity and speed from the turbocharging project has fuelled an extraordinary demand for data, which has underpinned the exceptional financial year. World-class telecoms and data services are attracting multinational corporations to the safe haven of Oman, all of them with very specific demands for connectivity and security.

Being a member of the global telecommunications family that is Ooredoo makes it possible for us to realize our international aspirations, while setting the standard for innovation and service in a robust, expanding local market. "

Commenting on the results, CEO, Greg Young said:

"We are delighted with our revenue growth this year, which has been driven by an increase in both mobile and fixed data as well as international voice revenue. Under both the Nawras and Ooredoo brands during 2014, we have provided our customers with some exciting and targeted new offers and these have contributed to our solid growth.

Our rebranding to Ooredoo in Q4 2014 was a huge success and there has been a very positive response from the market. With our Ooredoo brand came some inspiring new offers, which are generating ongoing significant interest and uptake.

Our results also validate the investment in our network, providing the speed and coverage our customers need and want. Our investment in 2015 will continue to improve the performance and experience of customers across the Sultanate. We expanded our fiber network and are providing a future-proof network countrywide and a second-to-none customer experience.

I would like to thank all Ooredoo family members for their hard work and contribution to our success this year and also to making the rebranding happen smoothly and successfully."

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