Vodafone Qatar Reshuffles Board, Appoints New Chairman

Doha, July 25 (QNA) - Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani is the new chairman of Vodafone Qatar's reshuffled board of directors, the telecom operator with 1.15 million subscribers as of June 30, said. He takes the telecom operator's reins from former chairman Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud Al Thani. Commenting on his appointment, Dr Khalid said, "I am delighted for the opportunity to chair Vodafone Qatar's board. In its four years of operations, Vodafone Qatar has brought in much needed competition to the market that has resulted in improved services and a much better experience for customers." I look forward to working with the company's board members and executive management in continuing Vodafone's success story in Qatar by taking it to new levels and delivering good financial returns for our shareholders, added the new chairman, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director, Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB). Vodafone Qatar Media Relations Manager Lana Khachan told Qatar News Agency (QNA) Thursday, "Vodafone Qatar's new Chief Executive Officer Kyle Whitehill has taken charge in Qatar since one week and the former CEO Richard Daly will continue to be on the company's board of directors." Whitehill was CEO Vodafone Ghana before he arrived Qatar. The reshuffled board comprises Vice-Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani; Non-Executives Members Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al Thani, Rashid Fahad Al Naimi; Abdulla Mohamed Al Khulaifi; Nick Read and Richard Daly. Whitehill and Chief Financial Officer Steve Walter are executive members. Reporting a 31% growth in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, Walters said, "Driven by a combination of continued strong customer growth and a stable ARPU (average revenue per user) has resulted in a near doubling of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) over the same period last year." Revenue rose to QR459mn from QR350mn. The company's net loss for the quarter ended June 30 was QR84.9mn (US $23mn), compared with a QR118mn loss in the same period a year earlier. Its mobile average revenue per user was stable at QR123. Quarterly profit before EBITDA was QR99mn, an increase of 92% year-on-year, while distributable profit stood at QR16mn, the company said. (QNA)