MANAMA: Batelco yesterday announced a profit of $114 million for the first nine months of the year, in a period which was marked by strong competitive conditions in Bahrain and progress in overseas Middle East and North Africa (Mena) markets.

That compared with a profit of $151m for the corresponding period in 2011, a decrease of 25 per cent.

The decline was attributed to aggressive competitive conditions in Bahrain, good leadership of the company’s restructuring programme and a number of one-off adjustments.

Specifically, Batelco experienced a 12pc drop in gross revenues versus the previous year in the home market due to increased competition and lower tariffs.

Redundancy payments for a higher number of employees and an adjustment of mobile data revenues contributed to the low third-quarter profit result.

The group’s balance sheet remained strong.

As of September 30, there was low debt at $72m and substantial cash and bank balances of $231m.

“The first nine months of the year continued to be marked by consistently strong cash generation and growing customer numbers across the group,” said chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

“A number of one-off adjustments resulted in more pronounced decreases.

“Still, margins are healthy and these one-off charges help position the group in executing its strategy of revenue enhancement, cost optimisation and achieving scale.

“The group continues to generate strong cash flows and underlying profits, well in line with the industry, and shareholder returns, which remain among the strongest in the region despite substantial competitive pressures in Bahrain and across the Mena markets,” he said.

“We continue to look at ways to further build our position in the Mena region and other regional markets.

“We have a strong balance sheet and cash position, which we are working actively to put to use.

“Scale is essential for stabilising and growing revenues as well as for achieving greater efficiencies,” he added.

“While seeking both organic growth and acquisitions, we are also implementing initiatives aimed at maximising synergies across our existing businesses.

“This includes rationalising costs while simultaneously optimising operations and service in the interest of customers and shareholders alike,” he said.

“Some of these initiatives have impacted results for this period, but will help to streamline operations and costs as we go forward,” he added.

“Across the group, our focus has been on enhancing competitiveness in our home market, Bahrain, and at our subsidiary companies,” said chief executive Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa.

“This has meant ensuring we remained as innovative as possible in our approach to serving our customers as well as in the manner in which we manage our operations.

“For us, one strong measure of success has been the growth we have achieved in our subscriber base since the start of the year.

“We’ve seen a 12pc growth in customer numbers for the nine-month period, bringing us to 7.4m users across the group.

“We are especially pleased to have achieved growth during the summer months and Ramadan period, where subscriber renewal and activity has historically been lower.” he said.

“In Bahrain, where competition is robust, we have maintained our leadership.

“Overseas advancements have also been made. In Jordan, customer response to the launch of Umniah’s 3.75G services in late June has exceeded expectations,” he said.

“Similarly, Yemen has turned a corner with normalising conditions in the country and the resulting resumption of growth at the company,” he added.