Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), the country’s second largest mobile phone operator, reported a 40 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit, coming in just below the average analyst forecast.
The wireless carrier made a net profit of SR998 million ($266 million) in the three months to March 31, up from SR714 million a year earlier, it said in a statement.
Eight analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected Mobily to report, on average, around SR1 billion for the first-quarter.
Revenues rose by 25 percent to SR4.48 billion in the quarter, while earnings per share was 1.43 riyals after 1.02 riyals in the same quarter a year ago.