The firm, which is 25-percent owned by Kuwait’s Zain, reported a first-quarter net loss of SR532 million ($141.9 million).

This compares with a loss of SR662 million in the year-earlier period.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the firm to post a quarterly loss of SR428 million for the first-quarter.

Revenue for the first-quarter was SR1.48 billion, compared with SR1.09 billion for the year-ago period.

Zain has conditionally accepted a $950 million offer from joint bidders Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) and Kingdom Holding for its quarter-stake Zain Saudi.

Last week, Zain Saudi signed a two-year refinancing agreement worth SR2.25 billion ($600 million) to help its capital projects and meet previous obligations.

“The company believes that it will be able to meet its obligations from implementing its normal operations,” it said in the earnings statement released to the bourse.

The operator, which launched services in late 2008, has an 18 percent share of the Saudi mobile market, according to a March note from Nomura, and faces stiff competition from Saudi Telecom and Mobily, an affiliate of the UAE’s Etisalat.