Zain Saudi posts smaller Q2 loss

RIYADH: Zain Saudi Arabia reported a lower net loss in the second quarter compared with a year earlier as it widens its customer base in the Gulf kingdom, the wireless carrier said on Sunday.

Zain Saudi Arabia made a net loss of 448 million riyals in the three months to end-June, compared with a net loss of 632 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the firm to post, on average, a loss of 487.7 million riyals for the second quarter.

"The decreased net losses in the second-quarter of 2011 was due to the company's success in growing its customer base which exceeded 9 million in less than three years of the launch of operations in Saudi Arabia," the statement said.

Operational losses second quarter decreased by 54 percent to 144 million riyal, while revenues increased by 18 percent to 1.7 billion riyal, company said.

Zain Saudi Arabia, 25 percent-owned by Kuwait's Zain , competes against with state-controlled Saudi Telecom and Mobily .

The newest mobile operator in the kingdom, which launched services in late 2008, faces stiff competition from rival players Saudi Telecom Co and Mobily , an affiliate of UAE's Etisalat.

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Copyright Reuters, 2011