• Quality investments in vertical expansion and high operational efficiency with an expansion in B2B and B2C subscriber base
• The Company achieves record retained earnings of SAR139 million

Zain KSA announced its financial results for the full year 2021, exhibiting a robust financial performance and maintaining solid profitability, achieving a 98% growth in profits during Q4 2021, to reach SAR71.4 million, compared to SAR35.9 million for Q4 of the year 2020. The full-year profits amounted to SAR214 million, while revenues stood at SAR7901 million.

These results are a testament to the validity of Zain KSA’s operational strategy and its steady financial management, backed by investments in quality innovative solutions and the expansion of high-value customer service. The robust operations were paired with reduced operational expenses and improved governance despite the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted all businesses across all sectors.

Commenting on the results, Zain KSA Chairman, HH Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Mohammad bin Saud Al Kabeer, said: “In 2021, we continued to underscore outstanding achievements on the financial and operational levels, cementing Zain KSA’s position as a leading provider of telecoms and Internet services through new quality investments that strengthen our presence locally and in the region. Simultaneously, our ambitious operational strategy has further reinforced our position as we continued to support our beloved Kingdom in its journey towards inclusive digital transformation and contribute to improve Saudi Arabia’s positioning as an established global telecoms and digital services hub. Likewise, we are wholly committed to empowering the people of Saudi Arabia, citizens and residents, and improve their prosperity by harnessing the latest technological solutions that endorse their personal and professional goals and improve their life quality. We have harnessed our best capabilities to serve individuals, businesses, and the governmental sector, focusing on enhancing innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in doing business to boost the government’s drive toward the digital economy and services digitalization.” He further added: “Sustainability was another defining aspect for us during 2021 as we presented efficient operations, positive finances and institutional performance and a motivating work environment, in addition to our contribution to achieving sustainability at the national level, as we became the first telecom company in the Middle East and Africa to receive a climate change classification.” 

“At Zain KSA, we are also proud to be recognized as one of the main contributors to talent localization and youth empowerment and to receive the "HRSD Labor Award" for job localization in the ICT sector,” Prince Nayef added. On Zain KSA’s growth prospects for 2022, Prince Nayef said the company will continue to grow after having reached a breakthrough in its financial performance. “Zain KSA will continue to drive more innovation and advancement, and develop the next generation of digital services.”

On his part, Zain KSA CEO, Eng. Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Deghaither stated: “During 2021, the company continued to strengthen its operational performance, achieving robust financial results that meet the aspirations of our shareholders and subscribers. These results confirm the success of our capital restructuring process, most notably achieving retained earnings after extinguishing all accumulated losses, in addition to the expansion of our 5G services, which reached 51 cities in the Kingdom across more than 5,000 towers, through an investment plan geared to achieve a complete transformation in all sectors through unlocking future technologies, including IoT, big data and AI. This contributed to strengthening our B2B portfolio and positioning Zain KSA as the service provider of choice for mega projects and companies in the Kingdom.”

He added: "During 2021, we successfully expanded Tamam, the first digital microlending platform, to target new segments. We also continued with our development strategy to provide a distinctive digital experience for customers aligned with our award-winning 5G network by partnering with Netcracker, the global leader in business support solutions, to enhance the backend of our commercial Business Support System (BSS) which would unlock accelerated growth and usher in a full transformation in the coming years. We also established new strategic alliances with global ICT giants Huawei, Nokia, Tata, BTAS and Fortinet, aiming to stay ahead of the latest developments and attract the best technologies, products and services to the Kingdom and place them within the reach of our subscribers in the B2C, B2B and B2G segments. In doing that, we seek to provide our subscribers with innovative tools that enable them to achieve their aspirations and goals, and improve their quality of life by contributing to digital development on the economic and social levels.”

In line with its successful financial performance and its growing offerings in 2021, Zain KSA added new accolades of global, local and regional recognitions. The company received two awards from Telecom Review Leaders’ 2021 summit: the “Most Innovative Product Service” award for its service “Yaqoot” and the “Best 5G User Growth”. Zain KSA also achieved the best 4G and 5G mobile data performance in Riyadh from global network benchmarking firm umlaut and was recognized as the provider of the best 5G network and data performance. In the first half of 2021, Zain KSA won the Speedtest award for the Kingdom’s “fastest fixed network” from Ookla for the third consecutive time. In addition, Zain KSA ranked first in "Meqyas" Q3 2021 report, issued by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), with the first 5G deployment and the fastest mobile 5G average download speed in Riyadh. Zain KSA culminated 2021 earning the "HRSD Labor Award" for job localization in the ICT sector in recognition of its efforts in empowering Saudi youth.