Strong growth in customer numbers and an efficiency drive has given a boost to the Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain.
The company today reported a 17 per cent rise in first-half profit to 140.2 million dinars.
The gain was partly on the back of growth in customer figures. Zain now has 39.6 million active customers - a 16 per cent increase on the first half of 2010.
However, the company underperformed in the second quarter, when it posted a 21 per cent lower net profit of 70.3 million dinars, according to calculations by Reuters. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected the firm to post an average second quarter net profit of 87.4 million dinars.
Zain's revenues for the first half stood at 659.4 million dinars, a 2 per cent increase on the same period in 2010.
The results are likely to be studied carefully by the UAE's Etisalat, which earlier this year abandoned a $12bn bid for a controlling stake in Zain.