Kuwait Telecommunications

STC Kuwait delivered a resilient H1 2026 bottom-line print despite top-line deceleration, maintaining its thesis as a stable, high-dividend defensive play. Top-line revenue contracted 3.3% YoY to KD 168.9M due to geopolitical headwinds, temporary airport disruptions hitting consumer roaming/arrivals, and ICT supply chain delays. However, profitability held up with EBITDA expanding 1.8% YoY to KD 46.3M (margin up +130 bps to 27.4%) and net profit rising 1.3% YoY to KD 17.5M, driven by strict opex rationalization. The biggest operational variance was a 60.6% YoY collapse in CapEx to KD 12.7M (CapEx intensity dropping to 7.5% from 18.5%), primarily reflecting normalized spending post-5G Advanced rollout and project timing deferrals.