Saudi Telecom Q3 profit up 25 pct, misses forecast

RIYADH Oct 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the Gulf's No.1 telecom operator, reported a 25 percent jump in third-quarter profit on Saturday, missing market expectations.

The former monopoly made a net profit of 1.95 billion riyals ($520 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with a forecast for 2.42 billion in a Reuters poll.

Saudi Telecom said the increase in net profit was because of growth in its broadband and business sector services as well as higher revenue from international operations. ($1 = 3.7502 Saudi riyals) (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Dan Lalor)