Batelco is one of the smaller telecoms operators in the
Gulf Arab region with a home market of just over 1 million, in which it faces
rising competition from bigger rivals such as Kuwait's Zain and Saudi Telecom
(STC).
Other Gulf Arab operators such as STC or Emirates
Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat) have also posted lower quarterly profits as
they spend funds on growing abroad to offset lower profits in their newly
liberalized home markets.
Batelco said in a statement that net profit attributable
to shareholders in the quarter ended June 30 fell to 22.3 million Bahraini
dinars ($59.3 million) from nearly 28 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts at SICO Investment Bank had expected Batelco to
post net profit of 24 million dinars.
"Reduced market share for mobile and broadband
services in Bahrain and strong price erosion adversely affected our revenues
and profits," Chairman Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa said in a
statement.
The operator has earmarked up to $2 billion for an
acquisition in Africa or Southeast Asia to further grow abroad after it bought
a 49 percent stake in Indian mobile operator S Tel Ltd for $225 million last
year.
