Manama: Zain Bahrain (Ticker: ZAINBH), a leading telecommunications provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain, reported a BD 4.306 million (USD 11.4 million) net profit for the full year 2017, up 1.2% from BD 4.254 million (USD 11.3 million) a year earlier. This positive performance was driven by a 23% surge in annual data revenues, resulting in revenue growth of 13% year-on-year, in addition to further developments in operational efficiency.
The annual net profit increase comes on the back of BD 73.012 million (USD 193.2 million) in revenues for the year, up from BD 64.647 million (USD 171 million) in 2016. Data growth was fueled by a continued expansion in data-centric products and digital offerings, important components of Zain Bahrain’s growth strategy.
The company’s EBITDA reached BD 22 million (USD 58.2 million) in 2017 compared to BD 24.8 million (USD 65.6 million) a year earlier, while its EBITDA margin stood at 30% for the year.
For the fourth quarter of 2017, Zain Bahrain reported a net profit of BD 1.507 million (USD 4 million), a 24.8% increase on the BD 1.207 million (USD 3.2 million) recorded a year earlier, with Q4 revenues growing by 16.8% to BD 18.485 million (USD 49 million), up from BD 15.824 million (USD 41.8 million) in 2016. The company’s EBITDA for Q4, 2017 amounted to BD 5.3 million (USD 14 million) compared to BD 6.2 million (USD 16.4 million) in 2016.
“Future growth in the telecoms sector will be driven by data and digital services, and Zain Bahrain is poised to capture this market through a differentiated, best-in-class digital customer experience. The focus remains on customer empowerment, convenience, and autonomy. We continue to prioritize this strategy by expanding our range of innovative digital products and services, enhancing our mobile app and online customer portals, and building partnerships with third party content and service providers that can add value to the customer experience,” Zain Bahrain Chairman, His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Khalifa, said.
“Zain Bahrain remains profitable and growing despite a challenging market. Our positive annual and quarterly results in such a difficult environment are a demonstration of the competence of our growth strategy. In 2018 we expect to build on the momentum gained last year through a further expansion of Zain Bahrain’s digital offerings.”
