Zain KSA sees 14% profit growth

Zain KSA has recorded revenues of about SAR 1,938 million and achieved net profit of SAR 41 million for the first quarter of 2021, a 14% growth as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Zain KSA explained that these results highlight the sustained profitability of its operations, which has continued through 11 consecutive quarters, declaring that it has driven down its accumulated losses to SAR 13 million, which currently represents 0.14% of its capital. Despite the challenge of the pandemic, the company will continue its initiatives to improve the quality of its services.

Zain KSA revealed that the results marked the onset of a new stage of reaping the rewards of its operational strategy, and the subsequent success of its capital restructuring as well as its incorporation of advanced governance and financial efficiency standards into its operations. Meanwhile, the Company noted that it will continue to diversify its investment projects and pursue the expansion of its services and products to its customers.

Zain KSA Chairman, HH Prince Nayef bin Sultan Al Kabeer, said, “Throughout our journey to become a leading provider of telecommunications and Internet solutions in the Kingdom, we continue to achieve one milestone after another, owing to the blessings of God Almighty and the support of our operational and financial strategy paired with the dedication of our resourceful team.”

Prince Nayef bin Sultan further indicated that the Company “is always eager to proactively contribute to improving the quality of life and advancing the national ICT sector towards further global competitiveness and innovation, which would further accelerate the nation-wide digital transformation in line with the goals of the 2025 Digital Transformation Program, a key program of Saudi Vision 2030."

Prince Nayef added: “This strategy has driven us to efficiently address challenges and meet the growing demand for telecommunications and data services, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, as we inch forward towards recovery, we work out our future roadmap through which we will pursue further strategic investments to construct a digital future that fosters innovation and ensures the progress of the Saudi community, supports the national economy, and contributes to transforming the Kingdom into an incubator for a knowledge-based, future-proof society and economy ready to confront global changes at all levels.”

On his part, Zain KSA CEO, Eng. Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Deghaither said: "The first quarters’ financial results are the natural outcome of the pioneering investments the Company has recently made as part of its endeavors to develop and expand its business and services."

“Following our success in extending Zain KSA’s 5G network throughout the Kingdom, covering 50 cities via 4,700 towers, we anticipate making the network available for all strategic sectors with a global competitive edge, in support of Saudi Vision 2030’s goals and reinforce the Kingdom’s position as a global economic power,” he added.

Al Deghaither also indicated: "We signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) to provide 5G services, high-quality voice and data, cloud services, and IoT functionalities in MODON's industrial cities, aiming to empower factories to achieve digital transformation in their operations and keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution requirements. Similarly, we have signed an exclusive deal with the Red Sea Development company, to provide voice and data services at the sites of the Red Sea Project during the construction phase, making it the first construction site covered by 5G in the Middle East, and also launched the 5G B2B leased lines."

Furthermore, Al Deghaither stated that Zain KSA pursues its social responsibility initiatives and has intensified its national sustainability contribution through supporting several humanitarian and charitable initiatives. Alongside sponsoring the National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity, the Company entered into a strategic partnership with NGO Youth Empowerment (Mentor Saudi) through which it will be contributing to the induction of targeted programs and initiatives to develop youth life skills and professional abilities, encourage them to be innovative, and enhance their participation in various fields of social and human development work.

Remarkably, Zain KSA’s continuous hallmark achievements have earned it multiple accolades and contributed to the Company’s excellence on the local and global fronts. As such, Opensignal, the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience, has granted Zain KSA three awards: “Best 5G Availability”; “Best Download Speed Experience - 5G Users”; and “Best 5G Download Speed.” Furthermore, Zain KSA managed to progress to the 12th rank in Saudi Arabia’s top 50 brands list, as per Brand Finance’s annual report on brand evaluation.

During 2020, Zain KSA won the SpeedTest award for the “fastest fixed network” in the Kingdom from the globally acclaimed Ookla, and earned three awards at the Telecom Review Leaders’ summit for “Best 5G User Growth,” “Best 5G Infrastructure Deployment,” and “Best Cloud Provider.” Zain KSA also ranked first in the "Meqyas" report issued by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) for the 4th quarter of 2020, as the fastest fixed internet and the largest 5G network coverage across the Kingdom.