Mobily incurs SAR 644 mln losses in Q4, excludes one-off charges

Etihad Etisalat Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest telecom operator incurred SAR 2.277 billion losses in fourth quarter of 2014 for the first time in more than six years, according to data compiled by Argaam.

The losses were attributed to SAR 741 million worth of provisions, in addition to SAR 63 million impairment charges.

Sales dropped to SAR 2.792 billion— its lowest level since 2008— due to SAR 829 million worth of promotion charges.

The below table indicates the development of Mobily's financials over the course of 2014.

Excluding the one-off charges amounting to SAR 1.633 billion incurred in fourth quarter 2014, net losses would have reached SAR 644 million, or SAR 0.84 a share.

The telecom operator's earnings for fiscal year 2014 dropped by 96 percent to SAR 219.8 million, or SAR 0.29 a share, compared to SAR 5936.7 million, or SAR 7.71 a share in fiscal year 2013.