RIYADH – Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), the Gulf's No.1 telecom operator, reported a 25 percent jump in third-quarter profit. The increase in net profit was because of growth in broadband and business sector services as well as higher revenue from international operations, the company said Saturday. It made a net profit of SR1.95 billion ($520 million) in the three months to Sept. 30. Operating income rose 0.5 percent to SR3.02 billion and revenue from services increased 8 percent to SR15.1 billion. It will pay a dividend of SR0.50 per share, totaling SR1 billion, out of third-quarter profit. Soaring demand for broadband has lifted earnings in recent quarters, with STC offering bundle packages to woo customers back. Meanwhile, STC launched a new Internet roaming control technology during the recently concluded Gitex Dubai 2012 activities. The roaming Internet control service, launched in collaboration with Ericsson, allows the provision and monitoring of Internet and data services at high quality to post-paid customers during their international roaming. “The major features of this new technology when using the Internet while roaming, is that it notifies the customer when the Internet service is being used, and monitors the data consumption, and provides notifications of the roaming rates according to each operator, in addition to invoicing the roaming Internet service immediately, as if it were local usage," said Abdulaziz Al Shamsan, Director of Marketing Communications and PR at STC's Personal Sector. Ali Eid, CU Head KSA at Ericsson: “Mobile services penetration witnesses a persistent growth in Saudi Arabia, in correlation with increasing demand for higher speeds." “We are proud to expand our partnership with STC, to provide flexible options in the field of broadband roaming services to STC's customers when travelling abroad. It is evident that Ericsson's solutions will enable STC to provide its customers with unparalleled flexibility, as they get to enjoy Internet services during international roaming," he added. – SG
