26 July 2016
DOHA: The extraordinary general assembly meeting of Vodafone Qatar has given the nod to the board of directors' decision to
set the company's foreign investment threshold at 49 percent, excluding the GCC nationals.
The ordinary and extraordinary general assembly of Vodafone Qatar held yesterday also elected three independent members of the Board of Directors. The newly elected members are Abdullah Nasser Al Misnad, Akbar Al Baker and Nasser Jarralla Saeed Al Marri.
The meetings were chaired by Vodafone Qatar's Chairman Rashid Al Naimi.
Addressing the shareholders, Rashid Al Naimi said: "The past year has been challenging for the Company, with the impact of structural changes in our industry, the increasing use of data at the expense of international voice traffic, and sustained price competition, particularly in the prepaid market, severely impacting our revenue performance. Meanwhile, our cost base has increased in line with the growing scale of our business operations, leading to a reduction in our earnings. As a consequence, the Company is not in a position to recommend a dividend for our shareholders for this fiscal year."
"Despite the difficult trading conditions the Company has faced, Vodafone Qatar has taken important steps to strengthen its operations and network infrastructure to adapt to the changing market and be better positioned to deliver long term returns. The Company has now completed its comprehensive network modernisation program which began last year, spending nearly QR1bn in total," he said.
"We look to the future with confidence and optimism that the market is showing signs of recovery. We believe the Company now possesses the necessary quality infrastructure, clear direction and experienced leadership to deliver value for our shareholders," the chairman said.
Vodafone Qatar's CEO Ian Gray said: "Significant strides have been made in particular in the last six months developing a more personal and outstanding customer service. We recently launched the My Vodafone smartphone app for simpler customer self-care, and for our enterprise customers we brought the power of Vodafone's international network to Qatar with the launch of our Global Machine to Machine Platform part of the Internet of Things."
The company can now compete better on quality and services and there have been early indications of the success of this approach as the company continued to grow its postpaid base and gain a higher share of higher spending customers in both the consumer and enterprise segments.
"The company is focused on its mission to deliver innovative products and services and exceptional customer experience by taking an increasingly segmented approach to the market, differentiating itself through its international brand and the capability available through the Global Vodafone Group. We now have a superior network, delivered by a talented, effective and efficient team. We shall augment our mobile revenue streams with adjacent business opportunities and follow a cost-effective approach to giving the country choice in fixed services," he said.
DOHA: The extraordinary general assembly meeting of Vodafone Qatar has given the nod to the board of directors' decision to
set the company's foreign investment threshold at 49 percent, excluding the GCC nationals.
The ordinary and extraordinary general assembly of Vodafone Qatar held yesterday also elected three independent members of the Board of Directors. The newly elected members are Abdullah Nasser Al Misnad, Akbar Al Baker and Nasser Jarralla Saeed Al Marri.
The meetings were chaired by Vodafone Qatar's Chairman Rashid Al Naimi.
Addressing the shareholders, Rashid Al Naimi said: "The past year has been challenging for the Company, with the impact of structural changes in our industry, the increasing use of data at the expense of international voice traffic, and sustained price competition, particularly in the prepaid market, severely impacting our revenue performance. Meanwhile, our cost base has increased in line with the growing scale of our business operations, leading to a reduction in our earnings. As a consequence, the Company is not in a position to recommend a dividend for our shareholders for this fiscal year."
"Despite the difficult trading conditions the Company has faced, Vodafone Qatar has taken important steps to strengthen its operations and network infrastructure to adapt to the changing market and be better positioned to deliver long term returns. The Company has now completed its comprehensive network modernisation program which began last year, spending nearly QR1bn in total," he said.
"We look to the future with confidence and optimism that the market is showing signs of recovery. We believe the Company now possesses the necessary quality infrastructure, clear direction and experienced leadership to deliver value for our shareholders," the chairman said.
Vodafone Qatar's CEO Ian Gray said: "Significant strides have been made in particular in the last six months developing a more personal and outstanding customer service. We recently launched the My Vodafone smartphone app for simpler customer self-care, and for our enterprise customers we brought the power of Vodafone's international network to Qatar with the launch of our Global Machine to Machine Platform part of the Internet of Things."
The company can now compete better on quality and services and there have been early indications of the success of this approach as the company continued to grow its postpaid base and gain a higher share of higher spending customers in both the consumer and enterprise segments.
"The company is focused on its mission to deliver innovative products and services and exceptional customer experience by taking an increasingly segmented approach to the market, differentiating itself through its international brand and the capability available through the Global Vodafone Group. We now have a superior network, delivered by a talented, effective and efficient team. We shall augment our mobile revenue streams with adjacent business opportunities and follow a cost-effective approach to giving the country choice in fixed services," he said.
© The Peninsula 2016
