Orascom seeks companies in Asia, Africa Reuters reported that Orascom Telecom (OT) set up a subsidiary to look for investment opportunities in small to medium-sized enterprises operating mobile phone networks in Asia and Africa. The subsidiary, Telecel Globe, has not acquired any licenses yet, OT said in a statement filed to the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange. OT Chairman Naguib Sawiris said in March that an independent subsidiary was in talks on acquiring three or four mobile phone licenses in Africa. He declined to name the countries. OT has large cash reserves and is looking for projects to invest in. It offered last month to buy back 106 million of its own shares for a total cost of LE 8.8 billion. -Agencies Ahli United Bank doubles Q1 net Ahli United Bank made net profit of LE 63.8 million ($11.9 million) in the first quarter of 2008, double that for the same period of 2007, Egypt s stock exchange said. The company s net profit in the January-March period of 2007 was LE 31.8 million, the bourse said in a statement. It gave no reason for the sharp rise. Ahli United, a subsidiary of Bahrain s Ahli United Bank, took control of the Egyptian bank in 2007 after buying a 49 percent stake in 2006. The Egyptian bank was originally named Delta International Bank. -Agencies Suez Cement Q1 net profit soars 56 pctSuez Cement posted a 56 percent rise in first-quarter net profit before minority interest to LE 413.6 million ($77 million), the stock exchange said on Wednesday. Suez Cement, a subsidiary of Italy s Italcementi, made a net profit before minority interest of LE 264.6 million in the first quarter of 2007, the bourse said. -Agencies AlWatany Bank Q1 net up 129 percent AlWatany Bank of Egypt, a unit of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), reported a 129 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to LE 101 million ($18.9 million), the stock exchange said on Wednesday. AlWatany Bank, which the Kuwait bank bought last August, made LE 44.1 million in the January-March period of 2007, it said in a statement. NBK now owns 98 percent of AlWatany. -Agencies NSGB posts 22 percent rise in Q1 net profit Reuters reported that National Societe Generale Bank posted a 22 percent rise in first quarter net profit to LE 199.4 million ($37.3 million), the stock exchange said on Wednesday. NSGB, majority-owned by French bank Societe Generale, had made net profit of LE 163.4 million in the first quarter of 2007, the bourse said in a statement. -Agencies Heliopolis Housing 9-mth net jumps 36 pct Heliopolis Housing posted a 35.6 percent rise in net profit in the nine months to the end of March to LE 142.2 million ($26.5 million), the stock exchange said on Tuesday. The company, Egypt s largest housing developer by market value, made a net profit of LE 104.8 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year. The firm said in November it had sold 29 plots of land in an auction out of 88 residential plots on offer in New Heliopolis on the outskirts of Cairo for LE 38.4 million. The company has a market capitalization of LE 7.4 billion. -Agencies Telecom Egypt says Q1 net profit drops 4.8 pct Reuters reported that Telecom Egypt posted on Thursday a 4.8 percent drop in net profit to LE 557 million ($104 million) for the first quarter of 2008, as retail revenue slid. The net profit fell well below forecasts by two Egyptian brokerages, which predicted LE 674 million and LE 806 million. Telecom Egypt said total consolidated revenue was LE 2.39 billion, up 0.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. Retail revenue, however, dipped to LE 1.4 billion from LE 1.5 billion due to a fall in total voice revenue. The company said the pressure on retail revenue was offset by a rise in wholesale revenue as third-party operators directed more traffic through Telecom Egypt s infrastructure, as well as growth in internet and data services revenue. There is little doubt the emphasis of our business during the first three months of the year was on expanding wholesale services to capitalize on growing demand for telecommunication services in the domestic market, Chairman Akil Beshir said in a statement. Beshir said that wholesale revenue increased by 12 percent to LE 952 million compared with the first quarter of 2007 and comprises 40 percent of Telecom Egypt s total revenue base. This has offset the pressure we have experienced on voice revenue within our retail segment during the period, he said. Telecom Egypt said total fixed-line subscribers reached 11.3 million, up 3 percent. ADSL subscribers in its internet and data services subsidiary TE Data soared to 260,000 from 111,000 a year ago. It now has 54 percent of the retail ADSL market. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 11.8 percent to LE 1.21 billion before provisions. EBITDA margin before provisions was 50.7 percent. The firm said it was in talks with mobile operators and Egypt s telecoms regulator on interconnection rates that Beshir said will allow us to compete on a more equal footing with promotions by the domestic mobile operators. -Agencies
