Mobily to continue 7-year debt reduction plan, says CEO

Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) is following a carefully designed seven-year plan to restructure and reduce its debts, chief executive Ahmed Abou Doma told Argaam in an exclusive interview.

The restructuring plan is based on the telecom’s existing and expected cash flows, he said, noting that the telecom operator has reduced its net debt by SAR 1.3 billion within the past year.

Meanwhile, Mobily is monitoring the latest developments in the financial market and periodically evaluates refinancing options to see if it would benefitin terms of liquidity, loan maturity and cost of finance, Abou Doma said.

When asked on his expectations on turning to profit, he said: “The company cannot give an estimate on turning to profit or ending the loss.”

Tadawul-listed Mobily reported a year-on-year (YoY) rise in quarterly sales for the first time in five years and halved its losses for the second consecutive quarter, among other improvements reported in Q1 and Q2 2018.

The telecom operator is working on boosting operational efficiency by all means, including improving efficiency at its branches and through e-commerce channels, Abou Doma said.

Mobily trimmed losses by 51.2 percent YoY to SAR 172 million in H1 2018, compared to a net loss of SAR 352.7 million a year earlier. The company narrowed losses by 58.54 percent YoY at SAR 78.6 million in Q2 due to higher gross profit, increased revenue and lower cost of sales.