stc profits up 3% to SR3.03bln in 1Q

Saudi Telecom Company (stc) announced that its profits after zakat and tax rose 3% to SR 3.03 billion in the first quarter of 2022 compared to SR 2.95 billion during the same period of 2021.

This came after stc announcement on Thursday of the preliminary financial results for the period ending on 31.03.2022 (three months).

The company’s operational profit grew 10% to SR 3.8 billion in the 1^st quarter of the current year from SR 3.48 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Gross profit of stc surged 7% to SR 9 billion in the first quarter of this year from SR 8.55 billion a year ago, while the profit per share (EPS) climbed to SR 1.52 from SR 1.48.

The increase in net profit by SR 83m in the 1st quarter of 2022 as compared to the comparable quarter last year was mainly attributed to the following:

– The increase in revenues by SR 1,296m, which was offset by the increase in cost of revenues by SR 703m, which led to an increase in gross profit by SR 593m.

– Zakat and income tax decreased by SR 59m.

On the other side:

– Operating expenses increased by SR 251m, mainly due to the increase in both depreciation and amortization expenses by SR 116m and general & administration expenses by SR 115m.

– Total other expenses increased by SR 279m, mainly due to the booking of net share in results & impairment of investments in associates and joint ventures by SR (229m) compared to SR 22m.

The increase in net profit by SR 421m in the 1st quarter of 2022 as compared to the previous quarter was mainly attributed to the following:

– The increase in revenues by SR 904m, which was offset by the increase in cost of revenues by SR 269m, which led to an increase in gross profit by SR 635m.

On the other side:

– Total other expenses increased by SR (225m), mainly due to the booking of net other expenses in an amount of SR (58m) compared to net other income in an amount of SR 170m in the previous quarter.

Additional Information:

Earnings before interest, taxes, zakat, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the first quarter amounted to SR 6,300m compared to SR 5,841m for the same quarter last year, with an increase of 7.86%.

The total number of Treasury shares related to the Employees Stock Incentives Plan stood at 2,850,655 shares at the end of the first quarter 2022 and those shares are not entitled for any dividends distribution. As a result, basic earnings per share (EPS) was calculated based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares in a total of 1,997,149 shares (in thousand) for the 1st quarter.

For more information, please refer to the investor relations press release attached to the announcement.