Batelco Invests $388m in Bahrain's economy during 2007, says Batelco Chief Executive

Batelco directly invested $388m in Bahrain's economy in 2007, stated Batelco Chief Executive Peter Kaliaropoulos, at a press conference held today at the Group's Hamala Headquarters.

"In 2007, approximately $145.2m in cash dividends was distributed to Bahraini shareholders, $79.6m in salaries and training to our employees, $12.1m in donations to the community, $71.6m in capital expenditure, $6.1m in fees to the TRA and $73.7m payments to various suppliers. Ultimately, such a direct injection of funds from Batelco, delivers benefits in terms of billions of dollars flow on, resulting from the multiplier effect across our national economy," said Mr. Kaliaropoulos.

"Additionally, our customers in Bahrain throughout 2007 benefited from over 190 promotions offering better value for mobile, broadband and IDD services without any compromise on quality of service. IDD call rates to GCC and other countries were slashed, business and education broadband prices were cut by 50% and postpaid mobile customers benefited from free credit, free minutes and free SMS packages to mention but a few."

"We realise the value of our 1,600 employees in Bahrain, 93% of whom are Bahraini nationals. We offer excellent remuneration packages, with salaries that are continually reviewed to match or surpass those offered by our competitors, and a world class health insurance package for staff and their dependents that will ensure the best medial treatment should they require it. During 2007, 700 of our employees received pay increases, and 90% benefitted from our investment of BD1,415,000 ($3.8m) in training & development," explained the Batelco CEO.

"To celebrate our record 2007 results, Batelco employees have been rewarded with an additional one month's salary, approved by the Board at last week's Board Meeting and paid on 31st January," he added.

The extra salary payment is in addition to Batelco's annual bonus payout which will be distributed later this month. Employees will receive annual bonus payments of between one and a half and 5 months salary for their performance in 2007. Furthermore, they can look forward to an increased performance related package in the future with the introduction of a new scheme seeing the highest achievers receiving a bonus of 6 month's salary for their 2008 contribution.

"At Batelco's upcoming Annual General Meeting, which will take place on 27th February, our Board of Directors will recommend to the shareholders a cash dividend of $127.3m (BD48m) representing the equivalent of 40% of the paid-up capital (at a value of 40 fils per share) - 20 fils per share was announced and paid in July 2007. In addition, the Board of Directors will also recommend a 20% bonus share issue, awarding one extra share for every five shares currently held by Batelco's shareholders," Mr. Kaliaropoulos said.

The Company's $1m investment in Batelco's NOC (Network Operation Centre) is already proving to be money well spent as our Executive and Network teams have managed and controlled events from the state-or-the-art centre following the recent unprecedented internet cable damage which severely disrupted internet links to international destinations.

Damage to 2 fibre optic cables (FLAG & SEA-ME-WE 4) near Alexandria in Egypt and a third fiber optic cable (FALCON) between Dubai and Muscat, caused extreme frustration for Batelco's customers who have become largely dependent on electronic communication. The disruptions caused capacity constraints on all the telecommunications networks across the Middle East and India, not just Bahrain. However, Batelco engineers at the 24x7 NOC, instantaneously began re-routing internet, voice and data traffic to other cable systems.

Batelco has invested in 3 international cable systems FLAG, SEA-ME-WE 3 and SEA-ME-WE 4 and a satellite earth station to provide voice, data and internet services to its customers across the Kingdom. Batelco has also invested in three diverse paths (SFO, FALCON and FOG) to access such international connectivity.

"Despite the loss of 3 major international cables connecting the Middle East to the rest of the world, Batelco's network has been carefully designed to provide significant resilience and diversity. Batelco's traffic was re-routed via the FOG and SFO cables, from Manama to the rest of the world alleviating the problem to some extent," Mr. Kaliaropoulos explained.

Repair work, which is already underway by the international cable providers, is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks.

"Batelco's multi-million dollar investments in multiple cable systems with significant diversity, expert network planning and extremely responsive restoration initiatives have protected Bahrain from experiencing a very severe, almost catastrophic disconnection with the rest of the world," he said.

Looking forward, Mr. Kaliaropoulos said that Batelco aspired to grow the scale of the Group in 2008 either through new license acquisitions or through partnerships with established telecommunications companies. Batelco's overseas operations are expected to take an increasingly more important role in the future success and growth of the Group.