RIYADH: Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) beat forecasts with an 11.7 percent rise in third-quarter net profit as revenue from corporate and wholesale customers grew.

Mobily, an affiliate of the UAE’s Etisalat, made a third-quarter net profit of SR1.69 billion, up from SR1.51 billion in the prior-year period.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Mobily would make a quarterly profit of SR1.65 billion.

Mobily’s revenue for the three months to Sept. 30 was SR6.45 billion, up from SR6.18 billion in the prior-year period.

The firm plans to buy a stake in loss-making fixed line operator Etihad Atheeb, a move seen as helping it offer service bundles that include voice, data and television services.

Saudi operators have focused on data and combined services to help offset slumping conventional call margins, which are under pressure due to the surging popularity of substitute services such as Internet-based phone calls and instant messaging.