Dubai: Saudi Telecom, the Gulf’s No.1 telecom operator by market value, reported a 4.7 per cent rise in first-quarter profit on Monday that beat estimates but was smaller than an increase in revenue as costs grew. The firm, which competes domestically with Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) and Zain Saudi, made a net profit of 2.50 billion riyals ($667 million) in the three months to March 31, up from 2.39 billion in the prior-year period. Three analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast that STC, which own stakes in operators in the Gulf, Turkey, South Africa and Asia, would make a quarterly profit of 2.32 billion riyals.