Qatar Telecom, which provides telecommunications services in 17 countries from Asia to Africa, reported a 45 percent decline in second quarter profit after a one time gain from license fee changes wasn’t repeated.

Net income fell to 571 million riyals ($157 million) from $286.8 million a year earlier, the company said in an emailed statement today.

Profit in the second quarter of last year “was higher due to one off items including a reversal of a provision resulting from the positive outcome of the Ministry of Communication license fee decision in Kuwait,” it said.

Middle East telephone companies such as Qatar Telecom, also known as Qtel, and Emirates Telecommunications of the UAE are expanding in Africa and Asia to win new customers as competition in their home markets increase.

Qtel currently faces competition from Vodafone Qatar, a venture between Vodafone Group and state controlled Qatar Foundation, in the gas rich Gulf country.

In a statement, Nasser Marafih, chief executive officer, said: “We continue to enjoy good results in Qatar and see important progress in Kuwait, where decisive efforts to maintain market share are yielding results."

He added: “Indonesia, Iraq and Algeria continue to demonstrate their growth potential, while the roll out of fixed line services in Oman also represents an exciting landmark.”

Qtel shares fell 0.4 percent to 165.4 riyals at the 12:30 pm close in Doha before the results were announced. The stock has jumped 14 percent this year compared with a 0.9 percent gain for the QE Index.

Qtel, which holds a controlling stake in Indonesia’s second biggest phone operator PT Indosat, said consolidated customers jumped 30 percent to $18.2 million at the end of June.

The company also controls Nawras in Oman, Asiacell in Iraq, and Wataniya Telecom, which operates in Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives and the Palestinian Territories.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 15 percent to $890.1 million in the second quarter, while consolidated revenue increased 13 percent to $1.84 billion, according to the statement.

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