Middle East Business: Zain posts 6pc jump in Q1 net profit; revenue soars to $1.3bn – Gulf Digital News

Middle East Business: Zain posts 6pc jump in Q1 net profit; revenue soars to $1.3bn – Gulf Digital News

Zain Group, a leading telecom innovator with operations in seven markets across the Middle East and Africa, has registered a net profit of KD47 million ($156 million) for the first three months, up 6% over last year, while its revenues for Q1 rose 7% to hit $1.3 billion.

Announcing its consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022, Zain Group said it had generated consolidated revenue of KD408 million ($1.3 billion) for the Q1 2022, up 7% year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Ebitda for the quarter reached KD154 million ($507 million), down 3% y-o-y, reflecting an ebitda margin of 38%.

Net income for the quarter reached KD47 million reflecting an earnings per share of 11 Fils ($0.04).

For Q1 2022, foreign currency translation was impacted mainly due to the currency devaluation in Sudan from an average of 271 (SDG / USD) during Q1 2021 to an average of 483 (SDG / USD) during Q1 2022, cost the Group USD 120 million in Revenue and USD 80 million in ebitda.

Across its footprint, Zain increased its active customer base by 2.3 million to serve 50.9 million, it added.

Commenting on the results, Group Chairman Ahmed Al Tahous said: "Our future-ready approach to invest heavily in 5G