Telecom giant stc’s shares close higher after H1 profits surge to $1.6bn

RIYADH: Saudi Telecom Co.’s shares edged up on Wednesday after reporting a higher profit of SR5.9 billion ($1.6 billion) for the first half of 2022 along with SR2 billion quarterly dividends.

Shares went up by 0.4 percent to SR101.6 at the closing bell, despite trading 0.8 percent lower earlier in the day at SR100.4.

The telecom giant announced a profit jump from SR5.77 billion in the same period a year ago on the back of a 7-percent surge in sales, according to a bourse filing.

Revenues hit SR34 billion during the six-month period, up from SR32 billion last year, which was slightly offset by higher cost of revenue and operating expenses.

This was mainly driven by an increase in the revenues of stc’s KSA unit by 9.1 percent, due to the strong performance of the enterprise business unit.

During the second quarter of the year, a company specialized in cloud computing was established with SR894 million capital, of which stc’s share amounted to SR492 million, said CEO, Olayan Alwetaid.

“The group’s total investments during the first half of 2022 reached around SR5 billion through strategic partnerships, establishing specialized technology companies, and acquisitions for geographic expansion and diversification,” he added.