RIYADH: Zain Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) posted record financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, registering a significant 48 percent increase in EBITDA to reach SR1.63 billion, for the 12 months period, up from SR1.10 billion during the same period of 2014. For the fourth quarter of 2015, the company witnessed a 47 percent increase in EBITDA reaching SR405 million up from SR275 million in Q4, 2014.

Revenues grew by 9 percent year on year, to reach SR6.74 billion for the year compared with SR6.17 billion in 2014, while revenues increased 7 percent quarter on quarter, to reach SR1.67 billion for Q4, 2015 compared with SR1.56 billion during the same quarter of 2014.

The company also recorded a 23 percent increase in gross profit to reach a record SR3.95 billion for 2015 with a gross margin of 59 percent, up from SR3.22 billion and 52 percent gross margin in 2014. Gross profit also increased by 30 percent during Q4, 2015 to reach SR1.07 billion with a gross margin of 64 percent, up from SR816 million in Q4, 2014 and a 52 percent gross margin.

The company recorded a significant 73 percent reduction in operation losses, to reach SR141 million down from SR534 million in 2014. Operating losses reflected a 40 percent reduction in Q4, 2015, compared with Q4, 2014, reducing to SR82 million from SR137 million.

Net losses for the year narrowed by 23 percent to SR971 million, down from SR1.27 billion during 2014, with Q4 net losses dropping by 5 percent drop to SR291 million, down from SR306 million during Q4, 2014.

Prince Naif bin Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabeer, chairman of the board of directors of Zain KSA said: "The company is clearly continuing to improve its operating performance in what remains a very competitive market. It is clear that we have an important role to play in the transformation of the Kingdom toward a digitally enabled and diversified economy."

Zain KSA CEO Hassan Kabbani said: "The company's sustained improvements in its financial results demonstrate that we are both selling more digital services as well as improving the monetization of these services. The record results that Zain KSA achieved in 2015 are due to the extraordinary efforts of our team to align around the company's Winning through Caring transformation plan."