STC reports strong profits for 1H

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has reported net profits of SAR5.91 billion (USD1.57 billion) for the first half of 2005, up 15% on the corresponding period last year, on the back of a 7% rise in revenues to SAR15.9 billion (USD4.2 billion). STC, one of the oil-rich Kingdom’s largest listed companies, was partly privatised in 2002 and today faces competition in the mobile sector from UAE-based Etisalat, which received its licence last year. However, with more than eight million wireless users and a monopoly on the fixed line market, STC continues to dominate the country’s telecoms market.