Kuwait's Wataniya reports USD68m profit in Q2 

(MENAFN) Kuwait's second largest telecoms operator Wataniya posted a 49 percent decline in quarterly profits on foreign exchange losses from its Algeria unit and stiffer competition in its home market, Reuters reported.

The company, a unit of Qatar Telecom (Qtel), said it made USD67.83 million net profit during the second quarter, down from USD132.07 million a year earlier.

Wataniya also reported USD664.96 million revenue during the quarter, up from USD645.5 million a year earlier. Kuwait, Algeria and Tunisia accounted for 93 percent of the overall revenue in the period.

The company said that its profits were impacted by currency losses which hit USD133.66 million, up from USD27.9 million a year earlier.

Because of the stiff competition between telecom operators working in Kuwait, Wataniya's profit fell 36 percent to USD48.16 million, while its Algeria unit reported USD3.89 million loss.

Wataniya, which also has operations in Tunisia, Algeria, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Territories, said its base of customers increased 8.3 percent to 18.3 million from a year earlier.