Kuwait’s Zain reports flat second-quarter profit

Zain, Kuwait’s biggest telecom operator by subscribers, reported flat second-quarter profits on Sunday. (Reuters)

DUBAI: Zain, Kuwait’s biggest telecom operator by subscribers, reported flat second-quarter profits on Sunday.
The former monopoly, which operates in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa, made a net profit of 44 million Kuwaiti dinars (SR546 million) in the three months to June 30, it said in a statement. That compared with a profit of 44.7 million dinars in the year period last year.
EFG Hermes had forecast a net profit of 39.87 million dinars, while SICO Bahrain forecast a net profit of 36.75 million dinars.
Zain said in a statement that foreign currency conversions, mainly in Sudan, had cost the company $58 million in the first six months of 2017.
Second-quarter revenue was 261 million dinars, down from 274.9 million dinars a year ago.
In Kuwait, Zain competes with Ooredoo Kuwait, a unit of Qatar’s Ooredoo, and Viva, an affiliate of Saudi Telecom Co.
Zain said in December it was in talks to sell its mobile transmitter towers to a consortium comprised of TASC and ACWA Holding.