The telco's net profit declined to RO61.3mn in the this year from RO65.9mn in the same period last year.

In a press release the company said the decline in net profit is mainly due to loss incurred by its subsidiary WorldCall. Also increase in domestic opex mainly of a non-recurrent nature also impacted domestic net profit. Domestic net profit decreased by 2.5 per cent to RO66.9mn from RO68.6mn.

Omantel said revenue growth was mainly driven by the domestic retail segment which recorded a growth of 8.3 per cent to RO253mn compared to RO233.6mn for the corresponding period of year 2014 mainly contributed by fixed and mobile broadband and wholesale services.

All its major segments - consumer corporate and wholesale - recorded revenue growth.

Group operating expenses increased by 12.7 per cent to RO190.6mn compared with RO169.1mn for the corresponding period of 2014. This was attributed to increase in roaming operation and maintenance (O&M) depreciation employee and marketing costs and administrative expenses.

The increase in O&M and depreciation are the result of increased investment in network modernisation / expansion for both mobile and fixed networks to meet the growing demand of broadband services as well as increase in costs related to submarine cable capacity IRU sales cost of devices etc.

Omantel's administrative costs include RO1mn towards penalty imposed by TRA on account of network outage on November 14 in addition to consultancy costs related to a new corporate strategy and spend optimisation initiatives which are of a non-recurrent nature.

The broadband segment - both mobile and fixed - was a key driver of growth. Mobile and fixed broadband subscribers grew by 12 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Omantel's domestic subscriber base witnessed a growth of three per cent as on June 30 2015 reaching 3.33mn (excluding mobile resellers).

Based on the authorisation of the AGM in March 2015 the board has decided to distribute an interim dividend of 55 per cent of the paid-up capital (55bz per share) to shareholders registered on August 31 2015.

Commenting on the results chief executive officer Talal bin Said al Mamari said 'Omantel has continued to see a steady growth especially in revenue despite the decline of net profit due to the existence of some non-recurrent expenses during the second quarter.

'The first half of 2015 recorded very good growth in our mobile and fixed broadband customer base a trend that we are expecting to continue and become a significant contributor to our growth for years to come' Mamari added.