The former monopoly made a net profit of 567 million riyals ($155.7 million), down from 652 million riyals a year earlier, a company statement said.

Two analysts polled by Reuters forecast Qtel would post a quarterly profit of between 750 and 814 million riyals.

Qtel, which owns controlling stakes in Kuwait's Wataniya and Oman's Nawras , said consolidated revenue was 8.13 billion riyals in the quarter, up from 6.97 billion riyals a year earlier.

"Seasonal promotions and foreign exchange losses impacted Q3 2011 net profit," said the statement, which referred to an "environment of ongoing competitive and market challenges" in 2011.

The group's customer base stood at 82.4 million at the end of the third quarter, up 19.4 percent from a year earlier.

The operator's shares closed 0.3 percent higher on Qatar's bourse before the results were announced, to be near-flat for 2011.