Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) held its Annual General Assembly Meeting (AGM) Sunday at company’s HQs at Madinat Al Irfan, under the chairmanship of Mulhim bin Bashir Al Jarf, Chairman of Omantel Board of Director in the presence of board members, external auditors of the company, the legal advisor, the observer of the Capital Market Authority and the shareholders.
During the meeting, the shareholder approved a proposal to distribute cash dividends to registered shareholders as of March 27, 2022 (55 Baisas per share).
Omantel AGM also approved the Chairman’s Report on the company activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31st December 2021. The meeting also considered and approved the company corporate governance report, auditors’ report on the audited financial statements for the financial year ended 31st December 2021 at which the company net profit after adjusting for minority interest stood at RO 67.1 million.
Group Financial Highlights:
|
Omantel Group |
||||
|
In RO Mn |
Year To Date (Jan - Dec) |
|||
|
|
2021 |
2020 |
In Fig |
% |
|
Revenue |
2,408.3 |
2,511.0 |
-102.7 |
-4.1% |
|
EBITDA |
970.3 |
1,026.3 |
-56.0 |
-5.5% |
|
EBITDA % |
40.3% |
40.9% |
|
|
|
Profit for the period |
233.6 |
229.0 |
4.6 |
2.0% |
|
Net Profit % |
9.7% |
9.1% |
|
|
|
Attributable to Shareholders of the Company |
67.1 |
66.9 |
0.1 |
0.2% |
|
Non-controlling Interest |
166.6 |
162.1 |
4.5 |
2.8% |
|
Profit for the period |
233.6 |
229.0 |
4.6 |
2.0% |
Domestic performance:
|
Domestic Performance |
||||
|
In RO Mn |
Year To Date (Jan - Dec) |
|||
|
|
2021 |
2020 |
In Fig |
% |
|
Revenue |
531.4 |
533.1 |
-1.7 |
-0.3% |
|
EBITDA |
190.0 |
205.2 |
-15.2 |
-7.4% |
|
EBITDA % |
35.8% |
38.5% |
|
|
|
Profit for the period |
73.2 |
77.3 |
-4.1 |
-5.3% |
|
Net Profit % |
13.8% |
14.5% |
|
|
Commenting on this, Mulhim bin Bashir Al Jarf, Omantel Board of Directors Chairman said, “Despite the challenging market conditions, increased competition and challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic at the local and international levels, Omantel Group achieved a good financial performance during 2021.”
“Zain Group, in which Omantel has a strategic stake, continued delivering good performance and growing its net profit despite decline in revenues and EBITDA. Zain Group achieved a net profit growth of 2% compared to the same period in 2020. Moreover, the contribution of Omantel’s subsidiaries in the Sultanate to the Group’s revenues increased during the past year compared to the same period in 2020”, he added.
“The Covid-19 outbreak continues to have a profound impact on the global and local economies as well as the telecom sector in specific. Following the acceleration of vaccination programs, the expectation of a return to normal is growing and the domestic economy is expected to gradually return back into a growth scenario. While it is hoped that the local economy will gradually return to achieving growth, the increased competition at the local market resulting from the entry of the third mobile operator, as well as cross-border competition through OTTPs, requires us to always be prepared for such changes”, he concluded.
On his part, Talal bin Said Al Mamari, Omantel Chief Executive Officer, said, “Omantel has implemented its new continues to be our primary tool to optimize value generation for both our customers and shareholders. Shift Gear builds further on the key transformation initiatives started under ‘Omantel 3.0’ and focusses on a number of key business enablers including Omantel's transition to a digital operator, building on the company's position and leveraging the Sultanate's strategic position as a global communications hub, in addition to exploring new areas of growth from new business opportunities, primarily in the ICT and value added services domain, while at the same time continuing to implement stringent controls in spending to assure the impact of Covid-19 is minimized while continuing to invest in essential strategic domains.
“Customer experience and innovation have been two main areas of focus for Omantel during 2021. We continued to launch several initiatives in this regard, including the launch of 5G for mobile devices, the expansion of the 5G for fixed and mobile networks and building an integrated system for innovation and technology entrepreneurship through the launch of Omantel Innovation Labs, Omantel’s Innovation Oasis and the “E-Dukaan”, the first unmanned store in the Middle East region”, he furthered.
With regard to social responsibility, Al Mamari said: “Omantel focused in 2021 on providing support to the deserving families and those affected by tropical cyclone “Shaheen” last October. The company also launched selective initiatives aimed at strengthening digital transformation and building the capabilities of a digital society. Omantel issued this year its fifth sustainability report, which covered Omantel performance in social, economic and environmental aspects”.
Omantel’s AGM also approved the other items listed on the meeting agenda, the most important of which is approving the allocation of RO 500,000 for community service during 2022, appointing an auditor for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 and setting their fees, and approving the Board of Directors’ remuneration for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.
Source: Press Release