Egyptian mobile operator Orascom Telecom has reported an 86% decline in net income to $105.13m for the fourth quarter 2008, compared to $782.49m in the year-ago quarter, on revenue up 4% at $1.3 billion.
EBITDA during the quarter grew 11% to $611.7m, while EPS was $0.46 compared to $3.69 in the year-ago quarter. The company said GSM revenue grew 6% to $1.17 billion, telecoms services revenue fell 13% to $103.91m, and internet services revenue grew 29% to $21.09m.
During the quarter the company sold its non-GSM subsidiary OrasInvest to The Abu Dhabi Investment Company for $180m.
For fiscal 2008, the company reported a 76% decline in net income to $502.62m, compared to net income of $2.08 billion a year ago, on revenue up 13% at $5.32 billion. Operating income grew 15% to $1.29 billion, EPS fell 76% to $2.3, and EBITDA grew 15% to $2.07 billion.
Naguib Sawiris, chairman and chief executive of Orascom, said: 2008 demonstrated the strong resilience of our business in increasingly volatile and challenging global economic conditions. Most of our businesses, with the exception of Pakistan, have achieved their target in terms of growth and profitability. In 2009, we believe that all our markets, except Pakistan, will continue to show robust performance. We have recently initiated a cost-reduction program aiming at reducing operating expenses by 10% across the group.
In January the company announced the sale of M-Link to TLC SERVIZI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wind Telecomunicazioni for $77m. It also acquired mobile operator Cell One in Namibia for approximately $59m.
