JEDDAH — Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced Monday the company's preliminary financial results for the period ending March 31, 2015 which showed that revenues from domestic operations grew 16% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to corresponding period last year, and revenues from the controlled international grew 8% compared to corresponding period last year. The company said in a statement that operating profit for the quarter reached SR3,380 million, an increase of 27% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA for the 1st quarter amounted to SR 5,160 million, an increase of 20% compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the 1st quarter reached SR2,504 million, an increase of 4.7% compared to the corresponding period last year, and an increase of 2.5% compared to the immediate prior quarter. As a result, the Board of Directors approved the distribution of a total of SR 2,000 million in cash dividend for Q1 2015, representing SR1 per share. STC Group Chairman Abdulaziz Alsugair said: “The strong financial results achieved for the 1st quarter of 2015 reflect the efforts being made to constantly evolve, improve and develop the company's strategy and operations both domestically and internationally. Revenues from services increased 15.7% compared to the comparable period last year and net profit increased 4.7% compared to the comparable period last year. We will continue focusing on customer satisfaction as part of STC strategy, by deploying cutting-edge technological resources, and investing in technology & innovative solutions across fixed, mobile and data products. The aim is to provide a robust quality infrastructure that support solutions and services exceeding the current customer needs. Such efforts place STC at the forefront of the regional Telecoms, who are laying the infrastructure for the knowledge economy.” With regards to international operations, the first quarter witnessed revenue growth of 8% in the controlled international subsidiaries compared to same period last year. Domestically, the first quarter witnessed revenue growth of 16% from domestic operations compared to same period last year. As STC continues with the introduction of innovative services and customized offers with the appropriate smart phones that encourages mobile usage for both post-paid and pre-paid “SAWA” customers, which resulted in 8% increase in mobile working lines during the 1st quarter compared to the immediate previous quarter. This is underpinned by the Company's customer-centric approach and its efforts to enhance the overall customers experience. Also, the first quarter witnessed continuous growth in data traffic over the 4G network. This is mainly attributed to the company's continuous deployment of the 4G network and the availability of the smart phones that support 4G technology. STC's continues with the deployment of the fiber optic network for both business and residential. During the 1st quarter, FTTH Customer base increased 21% compared to the same period last year, and 7.5% compared to the immediate previous quarter. Enterprise business unit overall revenues increased 12% during the 1st quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by the increase in Business sector data services revenues. — SG
