STC is majority-owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, which holds a 70 per cent stake in the telco.Waseem Obaidi for The National
STC is majority-owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, which holds a 70 per cent stake in the telco.Waseem Obaidi for The National
STC is majority-owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, which holds a 70 per cent stake in the telco.Waseem Obaidi for The National
STC is majority-owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, which holds a 70 per cent stake in the telco.Waseem Obaidi for The National

Saudi Telecom's Q3 profit remains flat as expenses increase


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Telecom Company, the biggest telecoms operator in the kingdom by market value, reported a flat third-quarter net profit as the company experienced an increase in operating expenses.

Net profit increased to 2.8 billion Saudi riyals ($747 million) in the three months to September 30, compared to 2.7bn riyals during the same quarter last year, the company said in a statement to Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares trade.

Operating profit, however, increased almost 4 per cent annually to 3.5bn riyals.

The company’s revenue increased 5.4 per cent yearly to 14.9bn riyals during the quarter.

“Saudi Arabia’s digital infrastructure allowed business to continue with great success across vital sectors in 2020 … reflecting a significant leap in the ICT sector,” Nasser bin Sulaiman Al-Nasser, STC’s group chief executive, said.

“The kingdom was also able to cope with the effects of the [Covid-19] pandemic, from increased data consumption to a higher demand on digital services,” he added.

STC is majority-owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, which holds a 70 per cent stake in the telecom company.

The company, which has its headquarters in Riyadh, has about 13,500 employees in Saudi Arabia and more than 19,000 across the STC Group.

“The operating expenses [in Q3] increased by 919m riyals [year-on-year] due to an increase in selling and marketing expenses … as a result of the increase in doubtful debt provision in the current quarter and the increase in depreciation and amortisation,” STC said.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, zakat, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter was 5.8bn riyal, an annual increase of 10.5 per cent.

The company said that pandemic-driven changes in consumer behaviours propelled its business in the last quarter.

The pandemic proved that the communications and information technology sector is the main enabler of various industries and sectors, Mr Al-Nasser said.

“The opportunity has become available to benefit more from 5G technologies due to its linkage with artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud computing and the Internet of Things," he added.

Last month, STC said it could not reach an agreement on a 9bn riyal deal to buy a 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt within the agreed timeframe.

If a deal were to be agreed, a majority stake in Vodafone Egypt will give STC a foothold in the Arab world's most populous country, as it looks to expand its operation in the region and beyond.

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Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm

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Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

Second Test

In Dubai

Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
New Zealand 90 and 131-2 (follow on)

Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining

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US PGA Championship in numbers

Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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The biog

Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Favourite music: Classical

Hobbies: Reading and writing

 

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