Wataniya nets $71m in first half

Kuwait's Wataniya Telecom recorded a net profit of 21.03 million dinars ($71 million) for the first half of this year, which represents an increase of 39 per cent over last year's 15.17 million dinars ($51.2 million).

A gain of 12,766 custo-mers in the second quarter of this year saw Wataniya close the first half of the year with 817,180 active customers in Kuwait, maintaining an estimated 50 per cent market share.

Revenues for the second quarter of this year were 35.13 million dinars ($118.6 million), compared with 35.11 million dinars ($118.5 million) for the first quarter, an increase of 0.06 per cent.

"Our customer base has increased by 1.6 per cent over the first quarter of 2004, which can be attributed to the company's ongoing development of new, value-added services that give customers a diverse range of compelling services to bring rich content to mobile phones," said Faisal Al Ayyar, Wataniya chairman.

"Market penetration in Kuwait today has reached 75 per cent, and Wataniya's market leadership continues to enhance this growth."

Last year, Wataniya won licences to operate networks in Iraq and Algeria alongside the existing Tunisia operation.

"We are currently working on consolidating our strength in these markets and to efficiently leverage our resources to ensure that all these markets continue to gain in momentum and success," the chairman said.