STC made SR3.32 billion ($885 million) in the three months
to Sept. 30, up from SR2.4 billion a year earlier, the company said in a
statement posted on the bourse website.
It was STC's highest quarterly net earnings since the second
quarter of 2006.
"The rise in third-quarter net profit stems from a 5
percent rise in operating profit and the realization of gains from the sale of
fixed assets — Al-Jawal Network Towers — to Aircel of India affiliated to
Malaysia's Binariang Holding," STC said.
It said the gain from the sale stood at SR728 million.
Excluding this gain, net profit rose 7.7 percent, which was still above the
most optimistic earning forecasts by seven analysts in a Reuters survey last
month.
The country's largest telecoms group by market value saw its
operating income rise 5 percent to SR3.26 billion. It had fallen 27 percent in
the second quarter to SR2.35 billion.
The third quarter of this year coincided with summer
holidays and the fasting month of Ramadan, which usually boost the use of
telecommunications.
Nine-month operating income fell 22 percent to SR7.95
billion.
The company will give shareholders a 0.75 riyal dividend for
the third quarter, equivalent to 40 percent of its earnings per share for the
period.
STC has spent about $7 billion since 2007 to strengthen its
foreign presence aggressively, mainly in Asia, while the domestic market it
once monopolized opened to more players.
This has put it under intense pressure to maintain
profitability levels as a telecom war heats up in the region with such rivals
as Kuwait's Zain and Emirates Telecommunications.
STC's shares are down 11.3 percent this year, sharply
underperforming both the telecom sector and the all-share index.
