Zain KSA net profit falls 61% to SAR 41 mln in Q1 2021

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) reported a net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR 41 million in Q1 2021, a fall of 61%, from a net profit of SAR 105 million a year earlier.

The decline in earnings was driven by a 5% fall in revenue due to the continuous impact of the pandemic and decrease in service rendered.

The cost of revenue increased by SAR 157 million year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2021, with no provision released during the period. This has been partially absorbed by a decrease in operating expense (OPEX) by SAR 43 million on better cost management to limit the impact of the pandemic.

Finance cost decreased by SAR 139 million following the reduction of total debt due to capital restructuring concluded by the end of 2020.

When compared to the previous quarter, net profit rose 13.9% due to the decrease of OPEX by SAR 32 million and reduction of finance cost by SAR 57 million.

Shareholders’ equity, excluding minority interest, increased by 112.46% to SAR 8.798 billion by the end of the first half, compared to SAR 4.141 billion in the year-ago period.