Zain Saudi said its first-quarter net loss narrowed as the telecoms operator offered new services and packages to lure customers but the quarterly loss was still wider than analysts forecasts. The firm, which is 25-per cent owned by Kuwait's Zain, reported a first-quarter net loss of 532 million riyals ($141.9 million). This compares with a loss of 662 million riyals in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the firm to post a quarterly loss of 428 million riyals for the first-quarter. Revenue for the first-quarter was 1.48 billion riyals, compared with 1.09 billion riyals for the year-ago period. Zain has conditionally accepted a $950 million offer from joint bidders Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) and Kingdom Holding for its quarter-stake Zain Saudi. Last week, Zain Saudi signed a two-year refinancing agreement worth 2.25 billion riyals ($600 million) to help its capital projects and meet previous obligations. "The company believes that it will be able to meet its obligations from implementing its normal operations," it said in the earnings statement released to the bourse. The operator, which launched services in late 2008, has an 18 per cent share of the Saudi mobile market, according to a March note from Nomura, and faces stiff competition from rival players Saudi Telecom Co and Mobily, an affiliate of UAE's Etisalat.
