Bahrain's Batelco Q3 net profit falls 8%

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Batelco's (Bahrain Telecommunications Co)  third-quarter net profit declined 8 percent compared to one year ago, according to Reuters calculations.

The operator said net profit attributable to shareholders in the first nine months of the year was 79.5 million dinars ($210.9 million), compared with 78.3 million dinars in the same period of 2008.

Net profit in the third quarter was 25.3 million dinars, according to Reuters calculations, compared with 27.52 million a year earlier.

The company did not provide a detailed earnings statement or a reason for the decline.

Gulf Arab telecom operators have so far posted a mixed bag of third-quarter earnings, with Qatar Telecom (QTEL) beating expectations with a 9 percent net profit rise on growth in foreign markets.

Batelco is also trying to diversify its revenues away from its increasingly contested home market by making acquisitions abroad.

It said earlier it could spend up to $2 billion on a buy in Africa before the end of the year.

Its Chief Executive Peter Kaliaropoulos said in a statement the company had increased its gross revenues in Bahrain by 7.5 percent during the first nine months of the year against increasing competition in mobile, internet and data services.

He said operating profit had grown 15 percent due to lower expenses. (Reuters)

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