DOHA: Vodafone Qatar said its quarterly net loss narrowed 5 percent from the previous quarter as it grew its customer base by 15 percent. The Qatari affiliate of British mobile operator Vodafone, which is fighting a regulatory decision to allow new competitor Virgin Mobile into the Qatari market, said its net loss for the first quarter narrowed to 148.7 million Qatari riyals ($40.87 million) from 155.7 million in the previous quarter. The company posted first quarter revenue of 175.8 million riyals, up 22 percent from the previous quarter. It had 534,000 customers by the end of June, representing 32 percent of the population of Qatar and a 19 percent market share. Vodafone Qatar, which began its operation 2007, has a financial year that runs from 1 April to 31 March. In May, the company said it would take legal action against Qatar's telecom regulator for allowing Virgin Mobile into the market as a third provider, calling it a breach of Vodafone Qatar's license agreement. Virgin signed a partnership deal with Qatar Telecommunications(Qtel) in May, under which Qtel will offer a prepaid mobile service under the Virgin brand. Vodafone Qatar broke Qtel's monopoly with its bid for Qatar's second mobile telephone license for $2.12 billion in 2007. Vodafone Qatar earlier this year said it planned to launch services including Blackberry, mobile broadband and mobile cash transfer services, subject later this year to regulatory approval, as well as develop its billing systems and fixed-line business. Vodafone Qatar is jointly controlled by Vodafone Plc and the Qatari government. Shares of Vodafone Qatar closed up .64 percent at 7.9 riyals before the results were announced on Tuesday.
