Kuwait mobile giant expects 30% profit rise

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PHONE PROFITS: Kuwait mobile phone operator Zain expects a 30 percent rise in profits. (Getty Images)

Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) expects net profit to rise by more than 30 percent in 2009, its chief executive said in remarks published on Sunday.

Kuwait's biggest mobile operator sees earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) would rise by around 40 percent this year, Saad al-Barrak told al-Watan newspaper.

A spokesman for Zain, which has been expanding to 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa, confirmed the comments.

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In October, Zain said it expected 2009 net profit to rise to around 413 million dinars ($1.49 billion), or by about 30 percent, buoyed by its overseas expansion strategy.

Zain's financial situation is very healthy despite the global financial crisis, Barrak was quoted in the newspaper on Sunday, adding the firm had paid back obligations worth $1.8 billion in December.

"This represents about 25-30 percent of the total debt," he told the paper.

Zain sees its customer base rising to more than 94 million at the end of 2009, up from 64 million last year.

For 2009, Zain would have a cash-flow of $5 billion, Barrak said, without giving a comparison for last year. (Reuters)