Mobily profits surge on home fiber business

RIYADH: Mobily’s net profit surged by about 74 percent in the first quarter to SR226 million ($60.2 million) boosted by its home fiber business.
Overall revenues were broadly flat over the period at about SR3.6 billion, the Saudi telecoms giant said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
The pandemic has brought mixed fortunes to the global telecoms industry, boosting some business lines such as home fiber as more people went online to shop and connect with friends on social media, but squeezing others such as international roaming charges which have shrunk as people were forced to stay at home.
The pandemic is estimated to have wiped about $43 billion from global sector revenues last year according to one study from Analysys Mason.
Mobily attributed its profit growth over the period to its fiber-to-home active base which offset the drop in international roaming.
The company also benefited from a fall in funding rates with overall financial charges dropping by almost 22 percent to SR126 million.