Vodafone Qatar said that revenue returned to year-on-year growth for the first time in four years, increasing 5.1 percent to QAR 2.10 billion in the twelve months to 31 December 2018 from QAR 1.99 billion in 2017. It was driven by growth in postpaid, fixed and handset revenue as well as an effective cost optimisation programme. EBITDA rose to QAR 584 million from QAR 538 million in 2017, up by 8.5 percent, thanks to the higher revenue and lower costs, and the EBITDA margin improved by 0.9 percentage points to 27.8 percent from 26.9 percent.
Net profit was QAR 118 million, making it the first profitable year ever, up by QAR 374 million compared with 2017. Free cash flow for the year was QAR 201 million, a 33 percent increase year-on-year, reducing net debt to QAR 419 million. Based on the 2018 solid financial results, the board has recommended the distribution of a cash dividend of 5 percent of the nominal share value or QAR 0.25 per share, totaling QAR 211.4 million, for approval at the AGM.
Vodafone Qatar is now serving 1.42 million customers. Postpaid customers grew by 24.1 percent due to the innovative products and the popularity of Vodafone’s Flex, Red and Enterprise plans. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for the year stood at QAR 105, a 5.6 percent growth year-on-year.
