Kuwaiti telecom company Zain Group has published the group’s consolidated financial results for the three months ending 31 March 2013, with a 26.8% decrease in net income to KWD52 million (USD184 million) fromKWD71 reported in 2012. Zain Group announced consolidated revenues of KWD299 million for the period, down from KWD326 million in 1Q 2012, while consolidated EBITDA for first quarter in 2013 reached KWD127million, an 18.9% decrease year-on-year from KWD151 million. Zain Group attributed the loss of KWD50.97 million in revenues, KWD21.64 million in EBITDA and KWD12.53 million in net profit for the quarter to the adverse impact of currency conversion in Sudan.

Zain Group added 3.9 million new active customers over the past twelve months to a total of 44.1 million, reflecting a 10% annual growth rate, with Zain Saudi Arabia reporting 32% customer growth due to 4G LTEnetwork expansion and aggressive marketing campaigns; Zain Bahrain – 30% increase in subscribers; Zain Iraq – 9% growth, as its networks expand to North Iraq; and South Sudan – 44% growth in number of subscribers. Zain Group’s substantial investments in 3G and 4G LTE networks resulted in an increase of nearly 14% in data revenues, further closing the gap between traditional voice and data proceeds.