Manama, Bahrain: Batelco Group (Ticker: BATELCO), the leading telecom in the Middle East of reference with operations across six countries, today announced its results for the first three months of the year ended 31 March 2012 ("the Period"). The first quarter was marked by continued market leadership in the Kingdom of Bahrain, its home market, and solid contributions from overseas markets especially from Jordan and Kuwait.

The first quarter of 2012 saw steady operating performance in Bahrain, where the Batelco Group continued to maintain its market leading position, combined with ongoing efforts to build its presence and strengthen the foundations for future growth in overseas MENA markets.

Commenting on the highlights for the quarter, Batelco Group CEO, Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, said:
"Operationally, Batelco is pleased with the effective execution of our Batelco strategy during the first quarter of 2012. It is our aim to retain mobile, broadband and enterprise customers in Bahrain, which we've done a great job of. It is also a priority to further build the Batelco subscriber base overseas. With the sale of STel which was announced in February 2012, the Batelco Group's adjusted subscriber base now stands at some 6.9 million users across six markets. We are focused on ensuring that our operations in each of these markets remain as competitive as possible whilst also working to identify new ways to grow and add customers – both organically and through acquisitions - in existing territories and in others that present a compelling opportunity."

Mobile and Broadband Segments
For the first three months of 2012, the Batelco Group reported a decline in mobile subscribers of 40% since the previous quarter and by 32% when compared to the first quarter of 2011. This is largely due to the adjustment for the exclusion of STel operational and customer data. Normalizing for the exclusion of STel, mobile subscriber numbers across the Batelco Group for the first quarter would have shown a decline of 9% since the previous quarter and a 2% decrease when compared year over year due to competitive pressures in Bahrain and elsewhere across the region.

Broadband customer numbers on the other hand remained robust. For the first quarter, the Batelco Group reported a solid 4% increase since the previous quarter and 5% growth when compared to the corresponding period in 2011.

This press release has been issued by Batelco Corporate Affairs department.
For further information, please contact Batelco Public Relations Office
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Fax +973 17611898