Zain Group has revealed that it invested USD 415 million towards Capex (capital expenditure) reflecting 33 percent of total revenue during Q1 2021.
Zain Group’s Capex was mainly in expansion of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) infrastructure; spectrum fees; 4G upgrades and new network sites across its markets, as well as 5G rollouts in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Zain Kuwait witnessed impressive growth in 5G consumer and B2B customers, with Zain Saudi Arabia expanding its 5G network to over 50 cities covering all regions in the Kingdom. Zain did not reveal the number of 5G subscriber base.
Zain KSA recently announced its agreement with Mobily to unify telecom towers aiming to maximize efficiency and improve coverage throughout the Kingdom.
Zain served 48.5 million customers for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.
Zain Group generated revenue of USD 1.3 billion for the first quarter of 2021, down 6 percent year-on-year). EBITDA for the quarter reached USD 523 million, down 7 percent, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 41 percent. Net income for the quarter reached USD 147 million, down 5 percent.
Zain Group data revenue reached USD 530 million, representing 42 percent of the Group’s overall revenue.
“Our operational focus has been centered on expanding and monetizing our 4G, FTTH and 5G networks creating vast and lucrative opportunities particularly related to Enterprise (B2B) services to government and businesses of all sizes,” Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO said.
