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STC profits hit by impairment charges
2013-01-21 11:06:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Saudi Telecom Company (STC) reported a 6.7 percent increase in revenues for 2012, to SAR 59.37 billion. The increase in revenues was attributed to growth in broadband (fixed & mobile), the business segment and wholesales services. Net income amounted to SAR 7.35 billion, down 4.9 percent from 2011. This was due to charges in Q4 to write down the value of investments in Cell C in South Africa and Aircel in India. As a result of the impairment charges of SAR 641 million and STC's share of extra regulatory fees for Aircel of SAR 544 million, net profit in the fourth quarter fell 79 percent to SAR 468 million. Excluding the charges, STC said net income would have been SAR 8.54 billion for the year, an increase of 10.4 percent compared to 2011. The board recommended the distribution of SAR 1.0 billion in cash dividends for Q4 2012, equal to SAR 0.5 per share. STC's total domestic mobile customer base increased 9.3 percent compared to Q4 2011 and 2.6 percent compared to Q3 2012. The fibre-optic network reached over 500,000 homes passed by year-end and counted more than 100,000 connected customers.
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Category:Telecommunications