UPDATE 1-Vodafone Qatar sees FY operating loss of $55 mln
* Sees profit next financial year
* Sees 700,000 customers in full-year 2012, 1.6 mln in 2018
* Operations focus on Qatar
(Adds details, background)
By Jason Benham
DOHA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Vodafone's (VOD.L) Qatar unit VFQS.QA expects to incur an operating loss of around 200 million riyals ($55 million) in the 2009-10 financial year on start-up costs, its chief financial officer said on Sunday.
The operator forecast earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 200 million riyals for the subsequent financial year ending March 2011.
"We believe that this year we will make a loss of around 200 million and next year we will start making profits," Chief Financial Officer John Tombleson said, adding profits would be driven by rapid growth in the company's customer base.
"Our focus is on customer acquisition and growing our customer base," Tombleson said, referring to the company's outlook for the second half of 2010.
The firm, which listed on the Qatar bourse in July, has more than 320,000 customers, towards 20 percent of the country's population, up from 250,000 customers at the end of October, he said
"In full-year 2012 we expect to have 700,000 customers, and 1.6 million by full-year 2018," he added.
Vodafone Qatar announced a half-year operating loss of 347.5 million riyals earlier in November and said it expected to be able to pay dividends in the year ending March 2013, when it will be cash flow positive on a cumulative basis. [nL4176187]
Tombleson said the firm's network would cover 100 percent of the country by year-end.
Earlier on Sunday, the company's chief executive Grahame Maher told Reuters it would focus its operations entirely on Qatar before expanding in the Middle East and North Africa.
"Our priority is Qatar, Qatar, Qatar," he said.
"Our focus is still to get the business here running well. We are interested in the Middle East and North Africa."
Maher said the company hoped to finalise the shareholding structure of its fixed-line license by the end of the year. Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenue, won the bid for Qatar's second mobile telephone license for $2.12 billion in 2007.
Vodafone Qatar, which broke the monopoly of Qatar Telecom QTEL.QA in the world's largest liquefied natural gas exporter, listed a 40 percent stake after completing its $1 billion IPO in April.
In Septmber, Naeem Holding began coverage of the firm with a "buy" rating and said it should capture a 33 percent share of Qatar's compact cellular market by 2013. [nBNG441996]
Vodafone Qatar's shares closed 0.6 percent lower at 8.85 riyals. It raised $929 million in an initial public offering priced at 10 riyals per share. [nLU567313]
(Editing by Hans Peters)
((jason.benham@thomsonreuters.com; dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +971 50 189 7556)) Keywords: VODAFONEQATAR EARNINGS/
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