Qatar Telecom, the country’s biggest phone-service provider, was cut to “neutral” from “buy” and had its share-price estimate reduced at Goldman Sachs Group, citing “slower” growth in its home market.
“We reduce our estimates to reflect EBITDA margin erosion and slower growth of the subscriber base in Qatar,” Moscow-based analyst Alexander Balakhnin wrote in a report today. “Q-tel will underperform its peers before the competitive environment stabilizes in Qatar, which is unlikely in the short term.”
The company’s 12-month price estimate was cut 21 percent to 184 riyals.
Q-tel, which provides phone services from North Africa to Asia, held a monopoly in its home market until last year. It faces competition from Vodafone Qatar QSC, a venture between Vodafone Group Plc and state-controlled Qatar Foundation.
Q-tel posted a 21 percent jump in full-year profit last month as it added new customers and expanded operations. Strong subscriber growth in Iraq, Algeria and Indonesia led to more than 76 percent of the company’s revenue being generated outside Qatar.
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