Vodafone Qatar to boost infrastructure investments

20/03/2018 05:42 AST

Shareholders of Vodafone Qatar yesterday approved all items on the agenda of the company's Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting, including the Board of Directors' proposal to make huge investments in boosting the telecom company's infrastructure, networks and other products and services.

The company, which recently announced a restructuring in its ownership and management, is looking forward to a major turnaround. The company aims at focusing more on its fixed-line services and 5G networks.

Vodafone Qatar is expected to be one of the first in the world to launch the fifth generation of mobile network services.

Vodafone Qatar is also working to enhance its revenues and profitability in the coming years given the fact it has recently got extension of its licence for an additional 40 years to 2068, which will enable the company to reduce amortisation cost annually from QR403m to about QR100m. This is will effectively increase the bottom-line profit ensuring dividends for the shareholders for the company in future.

The shareholders also gave their nod to reduce the share capital of the company from QR8.454bn to QR4.227bn by means of reducing the nominal value of the shares of the company from QR10 per share to QR5.

Vodafone Qatar held its Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly Meetings yesterday, chaired by Vodafone Qatar's outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Ian Gray and attended by Board Member, Nasser Al Marri and Chief Financial Officer, Brett Goschen.

The outcome of the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting was that all resolutions proposed on the Agenda were approved. The meeting also covered the Board of Director's report detailing the Company's activities and its financial position for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2017 and its future plans.

The shareholders approved the financial statements of the Company for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2017, as well as the Corporate Governance Report of the Company for 2017, and it was noted that the Board of Directors was not in a position to recommend payment of a dividend to shareholders in respect of the relevant period.

Addressing the shareholders, Ian Gray, said: "The overall financial results clearly indicate a recovery in our business performance and with the recently announced important Company changes that re-sets it for the future, our growth plans will be delivered faster.

Looking ahead, we will continue to bring further innovative products and unmatched customer experiences across our core mobile offering. We will also further expand our rapidly growing fixed-line proposition, targeting opportunities in public and private investments, major real estate developments and infrastructure projects."

The Extraordinary meeting also approved to amend the structure of the Board of Directors of the Company, subject to the completion of the previously publicly announced transaction between Vodafone Europe B.V. and Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development, so that it be composed of seven members, four of which will be appointed by the Private Founder and the remaining three Directors will be independent members elected by the shareholders of the Company. The current structure of the Board of Directors will remain in place until the expiry of the term of the current Directors on July 25, 2019.

The retiring CEO Ian Gray, who officially stepped down following the meeting, congratulated Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani on his new role as Vodafone Qatar's CEO, having formerly held the role of Vodafone Qatar's Chief Operating Officer.

The Peninsula