Ooredoo (ORDS) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue for the first nine months of 2024 reached QAR 17.7 billion, up 2–2.4% year-over-year, with normalized net profit rising 15% to QAR 2.9 billion and total comprehensive income up to QAR 3.75 billion.

• EBITDA increased 4–5% to QAR 7.7 billion, with margin improving to 44%; customer base grew to nearly 150 million.

• Major strategic milestones include a QAR 2 billion local bank deal for data center expansion and a USD 500 million international bond issuance.

• Completed sale of Myanmar operations, resulting in a gain of QAR 117.9 million.

• Strategic focus on digital infrastructure, data center expansion, FinTech licensing, and AI/cloud partnerships.

Financial highlights

• Revenue for Q3 2024 was QAR 5.9 billion, up 1% year-over-year; EBITDA for the period was QAR 7.41–7.7 billion, margin at 42–44%.

• Normalized net profit for Q3 up 15% to QAR 1–1.1 billion; basic and diluted EPS at QAR 0.91.

• CapEx for nine months reached QAR 1.9 billion, up 22%, with full-year guidance at QAR 3.5 billion.

• Free cash flow for 9M 2024 was QAR 5.8 billion, down 1% due to higher CapEx.

• Cash reserves at QAR 11.37–12.4 billion; leverage at 0.6x, below board guidance.

Outlook and guidance

• Nine-month results ahead of full-year guidance for revenue and EBITDA margin; FY 2024 guidance reaffirmed with EBITDA margin in the low 40s% and CapEx of QAR 3.5 billion.

• Data center financials expected to be fully segregated by Q1 2025.

• Management expects full-year 2024 results to be in line with current performance.