MyAdhan Blog

Link: Egypt: MobiNil records 15% net income rise

Egyptian mobile services MobiNil one of three mobile operators and the largest mobile operator by subscribers, has recorded 15 percent net income rise compared to the same period last year. This means a net income of EGP541 million ($99.05 million) for the three months, ending 30th September 2008. Earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose for the quarter, up 29% to EGP1.273 billion. Subscribers for the Cellco also increased, with MobiNil’s customer base reaching 18.91 million at the end of September, up 38 percent from a year earlier. As part of the MobiNil mission to maintain its position as the leading mobile service provider in Egypt, it has signed an agreement with Network planning company Aircom International to help plan and implement 3G technologies into the operators existing 2G infrastructure.

Under the deal, MobiNil has purchased the UMTS plus HSPA module of Aircom’s ASSET network planning tool, and the agreement will also see Aircom deliver 3G technology courses, training and a range of consultancy services to Cellco. Mobinil has also revealed that it was preparing to take legal action, after Egypt’s telecoms regulator ruled in favor of state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt, following its decision, to alter interconnect prices between fixed and mobile networks. Telecom Egypt had wanted Mobinil to drop the interconnectivity rates to below 0.15 Egyptian pounds ($0.0269) to terminate on Mobinil’s network and 0.10 pounds to terminate on the fixed-line network.

The company has a history of wrangling with the National Telecoms Regulatory Authority (NTRA), In April, the firm said it was delaying payment of a 750 million pound (US135,46) instalment on a 3G licence fee because the NTRA was late in handing over the frequency band for testing. Mobinil, has two main shareholders , Orascom Telecom, , the biggest Arab mobile phone operator by the number of subscribers, (33.1%) and France Telecom (orange) (36.3%) as well as a market share of around 48%, it also competes in a three-way race for market share in Egypt with Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt.