Mobily, Saudi Arabia's second-biggest telecom operator, posted a better-than-expected 33.5 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on higher broadband revenue and more post-paid voice customers. Mobily, also known as Etihad Etisalat, made SR901 million in the three months to end-June, up from SR675 million a year earlier, it said in a statement. It was Mobily's highest quarterly net profit since it started as the Kingdom's second mobile phone operator five years ago. The earnings came at the top end of forecasts by five analysts in a Reuters survey earlier this month and which averaged SR844.4 million. Mobily, which competes with Saudi Telecom and Zain Saudi Arabia, raised its net operating income by 29 percent to SR940 million, while its operating costs rose by just 0.3 percent to SR1.17 billion. Revenue rose 10.9 percent to SR3.97 billion. “The increase in second-quarter revenues ... stems from an increase in broadband revenues and a rise in the number of post-paid clients,” Mobily said. Emirates Telecommunications is Mobily's biggest shareholder with a 27.4 percent stake.
