STC posts strong results for FY19, Q4 hit by customer acquisition costs: chairman

STC reported outstanding financial results for the fiscal year 2019, chairman Nasser Al Nasser told Al-Arabiya TV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Nevertheless, he attributed the decline in Q4 2019 net profit to higher costs of STC’s customer acquisition strategy and rebranding.

STC posted on Wednesday a marginal decline in FY19 net profit to SAR 10.75 billion, from SAR 10.78 billion a year earlier.

Read more: STC net profit slips 0.2% to SAR 10.75 bln in FY19

Al Nasser noted that the new brand is part of the current phase, in which STC is converting into a non-traditional telecom operator.

On the company’s international partnerships, he said that STC is currently partnering with Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei, ruling out a global ban on Huawei.