Operator Zain KSA has announced a strong Q3 2023 financial performance driven, in part by tower-related business.
The Saudi operator reports its highest quarterly revenues, exceeding SAR 2.5 billion (about US$666.7 million) – a 10% increase compared to the SAR 2.2 billion (US$586.7 million) generated in the third quarter of the previous year, as well as recording SAR 285 million (US$76 million) in net profit, a growth of 234% compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
Importantly, this strong financial performance is in part attributed to Zain’s recent tower infrastructure sale and leaseback deal. This generated gains totalling SAR 139 million (US$37.1 million) during this quarter. However, this is just part of a total financial impact which the company expects to reach SAR 1.1 billion (US$293.3 million) over the 18-month period of the tower ownership transfer.
Saudi Arabia’s second-largest telecoms company completed a deal in January to sell a stake in its tower infrastructure for more than SAR 3 billion (US$800 million). As part of the deal, Zain KSA sold at least 3,000 towers, out of a total of 8,069, to Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC), which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, Zain KSA, Prince Saud bin Fahad and Sultan Holding Company.
Towers are far from the sole reason for the strong balance sheet in Q3. Zain also cites sustained business growth across all sectors with strong demand for cutting-edge services and solutions such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.
Beyond the growth in 5G revenue, Zain KSA says it has also witnessed a steady uptick in its consumer services and a surge in demand for Yaqoot digital services and micro-finance solutions offered through Tamam, its fintech arm.
