Qatari Qtel’s Full-Year Profit to Increase 21%

Qatar Telecom QSC, which provides phone services from North Africa to Asia, posted a 21% jump in full-year profit as it added new customers and expanded operations. Net income rose toUS$764 million from US$635 million a year earlier, Qtel said in an e-mailed statement. Fourth-quarter profit dropped 7.9% to US$118 million as “non-operational provisions” hurt earnings, it said, without giving further details.

“We focused on improving the network infrastructure to upgrade capacity and capabilities particularly in relation to data and broadband services,” Chief Executive Officer Nasser Marafih said in the statement. Strong subscriber growth in Iraq, Algeria and Indonesia lead to more than 76% of the company’s revenue being generated outside Qatar, it said.- Bloomberg