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A good year for STC: The Saudi Telecom Group’s (stc) net income rose 9.2% y-o-y to SAR 13.3 bn in FY 2023, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. Its revenues were up 7.3% y-o-y during the period to SAR 72.3 bn, marking record-high revenues for the Kingdom’s largest telecom operator, it said.
Fueling the growth: stc attributed the bottomline growth to higher sales and its “continued investment in new domains in accordance with its strategy.” Its revenues rose on the back of an increase in commercial unit, carrier and wholesale units revenues and a 23.9% y-o-y growth in its subsidiaries’ revenues.
A year marked with acquisitions here and abroad: stc grabbed a 9.9% stake in Spain’s Telefonica to become the telecom giant’s top shareholder USD 2.3 bn, according to its earnings release. Its subsidiary Tawal, a leading integrated ICT infrastructure company in the MENA region, agreed to buy mobile tower infrastructure worth EUR 1.2 bn from United Group. Solutions — stc’s tech subsidiary — completing the acquisition of a 40% stake in Devoteam Middle East in a transaction valued at SAR 742 mn. The Devoteam acquisition is one of the region’s largest digital transformation transactions, it said. stc’s subsidiary and IoT solutions provider iot squared fully acquired local IoT company Machinestalk.
And 5G for all: The leading telecom operator launched the largest 5G network expansion in its history under a bid to expand its existing network of over 75 cities and governorates. Its 5G network technologies cover 90% of locations in major cities, it said.
A look at dividends: stc will distribute SAR 0.4 in interim dividends to eligible shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2023. Dividends will be paid out on Thursday, 14 March, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. Separately, its board of directors are proposing a special in-kind dividend of SAR 1 to its eligible shareholders for 2023. This will bring its total dividends for the year to SAR 2.6 per share, according to a disclosure to Tadawul.
YANSAB-
Yanbu National Petrochemical (Yansab) reported a net loss of SAR 485 mn last year on the back of lower sales prices for its products, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. Its revenues fell 35.5% y-o-y to SAR 4.5 bn in the same period due to lower production and sales quantity. Yansab is a subsidiary of petrochemicals giant Sabic.
