Revenue during the first quarter of 2023 for Zain KSA increased by 11% to SAR 2.4 billion. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of Zain KSA's strategy, which focuses on improving the customer experience, expanding its reach in next-generation technologies, investing in related markets, and developing its infrastructure and 5G services while continuing to improve governance to ensure sustainable growth and profitability. This has helped the company become the go-to partner for both companies and individuals.
In addition, Zain KSA recorded its largest quarterly profit in company history in Q1 2023 with a net profit of SAR 563 million, an increase of 595% over Q1 2022. The company's financial success and the gains made through the sale and leaseback of Zain KSA's 3600 towers, which generated SAR 532 million in income in Q1 2023, are the causes of this record quarterly profit. This is a portion of the SAR 1.1 billion financial effect anticipated following the successful completion of the ownership transfer phase over an 18-month period and comes after the sale of Zain KSA's tower infrastructure transaction.
Eng. Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Deghaither, CEO of Zain KSA, commented on the outcomes by saying, "At Zain KSA, we continue to empower people, organizations, and government entities with cutting-edge digital capabilities and solutions to enable nationwide digital transformation in the Kingdom, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives. According to the first quarter results for 2023, there is an increasing demand for our digital services and solutions, which has caused us to diversify our clientele to include more individuals and businesses. This directly impacted our financial outcomes. Additionally, the sale of the tower infrastructure by Zain KSA generated a sizable net profit. The leading Saudi telecoms provider went on to say, "Our outstanding performance has enabled us to be one of the major Saudi companies to join the Private Sector Partnership Reinforcement Center (Shareek) ceremony announcing the first bundle of projects under the patronage and in the presence of His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister."
"These results reflect the success of our commitment to our strategy of improving next-generation communication networks and scaling up 5G network infrastructure in the Kingdom," continued Eng. Al-Deghaither. Revenues for Zain KSA's first quarter were significantly impacted by demand-driven growth in business sector services and solutions, as well as rising demand for our products in neighboring markets, particularly our Fintech services offered through Tamam, the first digital microlender in the Kingdom.
Eng. Al-Deghaither said, "The Kingdom's sustainable digital transformation is only feasible via talented Saudi youth. Zain, KSA, plays a key role in fostering national talent. We have agreed to train 50,000 Saudi men and women over the next three years as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we've signed with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. This collaboration is an essential component of the "Wad" national campaign to promote private sector training, and it is in line with our national commitment and strategic direction to become a significant enabler of a knowledge-based society and a smart digital economy that supports the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to improve human capabilities and quality of life.
It is important to note that Zain KSA and the Shareek Center inked a contract to launch hyper-scale data centers at an event announcing the first group of significant firms' initiatives under the recently established Private Sector Partnership Reinforcement program. In addition, Zain KSA has disclosed the Board of Directors' recommendation to pay cash dividends in 2022 at a rate of 5% of the nominal value of each share. This would be the company's first-ever cash dividend distribution.
