Batelco Group CEO Shaikh Mohamed Bin Isa Al Khalifa reiterated the position with focus in 2013 on all aspects of the business in domestic and other six markets where Batleco operates.
Shaikh Mohammed, who was joined by Shaikh Ahmed and Bahrain CEO Abdulla Rashid during the post financials press briefing, said the Group companies in overseas markets continued to perform well, showed growth and support the strategy of diversification being pursued. For the year, contributions from operations outside of Bahrain increased both as a percentage of revenues and EBITDA. At year end 2012, 41% of revenues and 39% of EBITDA were sourced from overseas markets, helping to partially offset the effects of intense competitive pressures in Bahrain.
“Undoubtedly the combined efforts of our people and sound leadership from our executives and Board helped us deliver sound results in a turbulent operating environment in 2012,” he added.
In Jordan, he said, the year 2012 was a landmark year for Umniah, in Jordan, which delivered 3% growth in its mobile subscriber base, following the launch of 3.75G services across the Kingdom. Exceeding plan and expected customer demand, more than 122,000 3G subscribers were added during 2012, bringing the company’s mobile subscriber base to 2.4 million customers. Even greater uptake of the service is expected through 2013 with the continued rollout Kingdom-wide. These results not only served to reinforce Umniah’s growing market leadership but also affirm the Group’s belief and commitment to the Jordanian market where it has made significant investments including the purchase of the 3G license for which it paid JD50M (US$70M) in January of 2012. Similarly positive results were reported by Umniah for fixed and wireless broadband subscriber growth. The company posted an impressive increase of 521% year over year and a 62% rise quarter on quarter.
Batelco’s subsidiary Qualitynet, in Kuwait, continued to be a market leader in Kuwait’s Data Communications and Internet Services industry. In 2012, it maintained market share and position delivering steady results and ending the year with some 39,000 customers.
“Sabafon (Yemen), in which the Group has a minority shareholding, returned to growth in 2012 following stabilization of the country’s political situation and the rationalization of the customer base, which was completed in the first quarter and served to excluded non-active sim cards. The company ended the year with a subscriber base of more than 4.1 million users. This represents an impressive 33% increase year over year and 9% growth quarter on quarter. Further growth is expected throughout 2013 and beyond.
“Atheeb (Saudi Arabia), in which Batelco holds a 15% stake, made progress in its strategy and the shift in its business model during 2012, focusing on the high margin business segment. While the near term results of this shift saw a year over year decline of 11% in voice and data services customers, the company was successful in adding a significant number of new business customers to keep numbers steady on a quarter-on-quarter basis and in terms of enabling the company to grow revenues as a result of higher value business subscribers coming to represent a greater percentage of its customer base.”
“We have entered 2013 in a strong financial position, continuing to focus on customers and innovation. We remain committed to identifying new avenues for growth in order to leverage our strengths and allow for the expansion of our mobile and broadband subscriber base and enterprise solutions, for the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders alike,” Shaikh Mohammed said.
Talking about Bahrain market, Abdulla Rashid said that Batelco would remain committed to its client base by offering the best services supported by innovation and competitive prices.
“In Bahrain innovation, excellence and efficiency remained the core focus. At year end 2012, the company maintained its market leading position with a 41% share of the mobile market. This was supported by strong rates of customer retention, especially among high value post-paid residential and business customers, and a strong 3% increase in mobile subscriber numbers during the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, year over year, mobile subscribers saw a 5% decline as a result of ongoing and aggressive competition and a challenging regulatory environment. With regard to mobile broadband subscribers, the year also saw positive results with year over year growth of 56% and 8% increase quarter on quarter,” he said.
“Demand for fixed services, as in previous periods, continued to decline. Fixed broadband and fixed line subscriber numbers reduced by 8% and 5%, respectively, year over year whilst remaining stable since last quarter. These results are in line with industry trends, particularly in the MENA region where users continue to migrate from fixed broadband and telephony to wireless and mobile technologies.”
“Underscoring its focus on innovation, in 2012, Batelco inaugurated its ideas Centre, a first of its kind facility in the Kindom, giving users an advanced look into the future of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The new ideas Centre feature the latest communication technologies and emerging services still in development as well as showcasing a broad range of smart services being developed and which will add value to Batelco’s offering.”
During 2012, Batelco also launched numerous promotions and new services in addition to undertaking operational enhancements. Importantly, it completed the upgrading of its Command Centre and Network Operations Centre (NOC) located at the company’s Hamala headquarters to ensure business continuity and the uninterrupted provision of services to customers in case of disaster or emergencies.
Innovation in mobile also saw enhancements to and rollout of new packages and solutions for smart phone and data usage as well as exciting new promotions such as an SMS competition giving mobile customers the chance to win significant cash gifts and prizes. New packages, enhancements to speed, reliability and service also supported mobile and mobile broadband growth during the fourth quarter and retention throughout the year.
For business customers, a key segment, a range of new services and facilities were also launched. Among these was the opening of a state-of-the-art Customer Experience Centre, another first of its kind in Bahrain, aimed at supporting customers and ensuring they can readily gain advice and access the best and broadest range of customized, integrated solutions to meet their business requirements. Other enhancements for business customers came through key partnerships including the launch of MPLS IP VPN interconnectivity in partnership with Omantel, which facilitated the availability of our IP Services to more locations regionally and globally.