Mobily delivered extraordinary financial and operational results in 2024, recording the highest annual revenue, EBITDA, and net profit in over a decade, driven by robust contributions across all segments.
Financial Performance Highlights: FY-2024
Commenting on the results, Eng. Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Badran, Chief Executive Officer, said, “2024 marked a pivotal year for Mobily as we seized new opportunities, accelerated digital transformation, and solidified our leadership in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector.”
Through the execution of our strategy, we achieved exceptional growth, forged robust strategic partnerships, and supported transformative giga projects that are shaping the Kingdom's future.
Mobily has reported an 8.6% year-over-year (YoY) increase in revenue, reaching SAR 18.2 billion, driven by strong performance across all revenue streams and a successful customer acquisition strategy. The company’s mobile subscriber base grew to 12.3 million, including 10.3 million prepaid and 2 million postpaid users, while Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) subscribers reached 285,000.
Meanwhile, net income surged by 39.2% YoY to SAR 3.1 billion, supported by higher EBITDA and cost optimization efforts. Operational efficiency and revenue growth also contributed to an 8.6% YoY rise in EBITDA, which stood at SAR 7.2 billion.
According to the CEO, in Mobily’s pursuit of innovation, they invested heavily in cutting-edge infrastructure, pioneering Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and state-of-the-art data center development.
For this reason, in terms of CapEx, Mobily reached SAR 2.6 billion in FY 2024. This investment was directed toward 5G deployment, IoT infrastructure, data centers, and submarine cables, resulting in a CapEx-to-revenue ratio of 14.2%, up from the 13.8% recorded last year.
Additionally, EBITDA-CapEx grew by 7.2% YoY to SAR 4.6 billion, reflecting the company’s solid financial performance.
“As we forge ahead on our transformative journey, we remain steadfast in our commitment to creating enduring and sustainable value for our shareholders and overall stakeholders. We will continue to drive digital transformation and enterprise value in alignment with our strategic objectives, paving the way for the realization of Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030,” concluded the CEO.
Telecom Review Exclusive: Mobily: Powering the Next Generation of Digital Services
Business Performance Highlights
Mobily has made significant progress in executing its strategic roadmap, focusing on delivering innovative products and superior customer experiences to fuel sustainable revenue growth and create lasting value for all stakeholders.
In 2024, Mobily expanded its technological infrastructure, securing a 15-year license for the 120 MHz frequency spectrum to meet growing demand for high-speed data services across retail and business markets. The deployment of digital twin technology also optimized its network operations, enhancing efficiency and reliability.
Alongside this, Mobily CTO, Alaa Malki, detailed how artificial intelligence (AI)-driven enhancements align perfectly with Mobily’s strategic focus, ensuring that every technological advancement translates into tangible benefits for its users. As one of the early adopters of AI, Mobily addresses challenges in AI projects by utilizing a multifaceted approach, including data privacy and security, transparency, ethical AI guidelines, regular audits, user consent, bias mitigation, and employee training.
Mobily also accelerated its 5G network expansion, increasing its total sites to over 6,600 across 61 cities. This expansion has enabled Mobily to achieve over 87% 5G coverage in Saudi Arabia’s seven major cities.
Additionally, focusing on ensuring unparalleled network performance during the Hajj season in 2024, Mobily’s 5G coverage increased by 300% YoY, resulting in a 400% YoY surge in 5G data traffic alongside significant growth in voice and international call volumes.
Mobily achieved record financial and operational performances across all revenue streams, and the business segment emerged as the primary growth driver, driven by strong contributions from the government, large enterprises, and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a key enabler of digital transformation, Mobily continues to deliver a comprehensive range of services that enhance connectivity, innovation, and operational efficiency across various sectors.
Mobily’s wholesale segment also demonstrated strong growth, driven by strategic connectivity deals and infrastructure investments such as the first Saudi-owned subsea cable through the Red Sea and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sparkle for the acquisition of dark fiber from its advanced submarine cable systems, which are expected to be fully completed in 2025.
Eng. Thamer Alfadda, SVP, Mobily Wholesale & Carrier Services, highlighted that, on the international connectivity side, Mobily's submarine cables provide four strategic landing stations in Saudi Arabia that are connected to its robust domestic network, along with nine cross-border connections to neighboring countries, enabling seamless connectivity to other global hubs.
On the other hand, Abdullah Alghonaimi, VP Wholesale Operations, Mobily, explained that they made significant investments in network innovation by strategically focusing on upgrading their infrastructure. “A key area of investment in addition to the submarine cables has been the modernization of the domestic fiber networks, where Mobily has deployed cutting-edge technologies to minimize signal loss and dramatically enhance network performance,” he said.
It’s worth noting that Mobily’s innovative projects have successfully attracted leading hyperscalers, international carriers, national operators, and other digital players.
