Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), Saudi Arabia's second-largest mobile phone operator, made SR778 million ($207.5 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, 51 percent higher than the SR514.4 million ($137.2 million) it made a year-earlier, the firm said in a statement posted on the bourse's website. The affiliate of Emirates Telecommunications Corp made a net profit of SR2.09 billion in 2008, up from SR1.38 billion in 2007 after its turnover rose 27.9 percent. The rise in 2008 turnover stemmed from “a rise in the number of subscribers, minutes of communications and an increase in demand for broadband services,” it said. Earnings per share rose to SR4 ($1.07) in 2008 from SR2.64 ($0.70) the previous year. The company will give its shareholders a dividend of SRs0.75 ($0.2) per share for 2008. Zain Saudi Arabia, an affiliate of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain), started operating a third mobile phone network in the third quarter of 2008. Mobile phone penetration in the largest Arab economy exceeds 100 percent. Emirates Telecommunications Corp owns 26.25 percent in Mobily, having sold an 8.74 percent stake in the firm at SR55 per share last year.
