In the third quarter of 2023, Zain KSA has marked a significant uptick in its financial health, reporting its highest quarterly revenue to date. The Saudi telecoms operator has revealed that its revenues have exceeded SAR 2.5 billion (approximately US$666.7 million), which denotes a 10% jump from the SAR 2.2 billion (US$586.7 million) of Q3 in the previous year. The company’s net profit has impressively grown by 234% to SAR 285 million (US$76 million) in comparison to the same period last year.
A pivotal factor contributing to this robust performance has been the company’s strategic move to sell and lease back part of its tower infrastructure, a transaction that led to a gain of SAR 139 million (US$37.1 million) in this quarter alone. This profit is a fragment of an anticipated overall financial benefit of SAR 1.1 billion (US$293.3 million) expected to materialize over an 18-month span following the transfer of tower ownership.
Earlier in the year, Zain KSA completed a significant deal by divesting a stake in its tower assets for over SAR 3 billion (US$800 million) to Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC), a firm backed by influential entities including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, among other prominent investors.
The company’s financial windfall this quarter isn’t solely tied to its infrastructure sale. Zain KSA attributes continued success across its business sectors to the strong market demand for advanced services, notably in cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Additionally, Zain KSA has experienced increased revenue from 5G services and reports a robust growth in consumer services. There has also been a marked increase in the popularity of its Yaqoot digital services and the financial technology solutions provided by Tamam, Zain’s fintech subsidiary.
