Egypt Mobinil sees subscribers up 33 percent

Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil expects the number of its subscribers to jump 33 percent to nearly 20 million this year, as it signs up people on lower incomes, its chief executive said.
"2008 is still a high-growth year," Alex Shalaby told Reuters in an interview. "We should have close to 20 million subscribers by the end of the year."
Mobinil, Egypt's largest operator by subscribers, had between 16 million and 17 million subscribers by the end of March, Shalaby said, having finished 2007 with more than 15 million subscribers, beating its own forecast.
The overall mobile market could grow by 50 percent this year before tapering off, Shalaby said. The economy of the most populous Arab country is on track to match last year's 7.1 percent gross domestic product growth, its fastest in at least two decades, government officials have said.
But Mobinil's net profit will slow from the 20 percent growth in 2007 as competition increases, Shalaby said.
Mobinil, whose shareholders include France Telecom and Orascom Telecom, competes with Etisalat Egypt, a unit of UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp and Vodafone Egypt. "We don't expect 20 percent but net profit growth certainly will be in the teens in 2008," Shalaby said. "There is high usage and growing subscribers."
Mobinil has rejected a request from Egypt's telecommunications regulator to pay interest on delayed payment of a 750 million Egyptian pound ($138 million) instalment for a 3G service license fee, Shalaby said.
Mobinil said earlier this month it would pay the fee on around June 13 instead of April 1, because of a delay in handing over the frequency band for Mobinil to do testing before the service begins. "They have verbally asked us to pay interest," Shalaby said. "We don't accept that."
Mobinil could also join a consortium bidding for a second fixed-line licence Egypt is expected to auction in June, Shalaby said.
Both of its major shareholders, France Telecom and Orascom, have expressed interest in bidding. "We could join with either of our shareholders or with another group," Shalaby said. Mobinil's revenue per user could continue to drop as the company pursues lower-earning Egyptians, Shalaby said.
Average revenue per user, measured by blended ARPU, retreated 19 percent to $9.9 last year, according to Cairo-based HC Securities Brokerage. "A drop of 15 percent to 20 percent in blended ARPU would be acceptable in 2008," Shalaby said.