Zain Group’s Profit Hits a 15-Year High as Q1 2026 Numbers Come In Strong

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Kuwait-based telecom group Zain has opened 2026 on a strong note, reporting its highest quarterly profit in 15 years as revenue and earnings climbed across its eight markets in the Middle East and Africa.

The group recorded total revenue of KD 569 million in the first quarter of 2026, a 6% increase year-on-year. Net income soared 51% to KD 80 million a 15-year high for the company. EBITDA also rose 6% to KD 182 million, with an EBITDA margin of 32%.

Zain served 51.2 million active customers at the end of the quarter, a slight increase from the 50.9 million it reported at the close of 2025.

The results come as Zain continues to push beyond traditional telecom services toward digital, fintech, and enterprise technology. The group has been executing a strategy it calls “4WARD Progress with Purpose,” which is reshaping it from a mobile phone company into what it calls a “TechCo conglomerate.”

That pivot is showing up in the numbers. Over the past year, fintech revenue grew 57%, driven by platforms including Tamam in Saudi Arabia and Zain Cash in Iraq and Jordan. ZainTECH, the group’s digital enterprise arm, recorded revenue growth of 74%, securing major cloud and cybersecurity contracts with governments and large enterprises across the region.

The 51% profit jump is notable given that revenue grew by only 6%. That gap points to stronger cost discipline and operational efficiency rather than just top-line growth.

In Saudi Arabia one of Zain’s largest markets operating expenses fell to 28% of revenue from 33% the previous year, supported by AI-led efficiencies and streamlined advertising and maintenance spending.

Saudi Arabia also continued to perform well on its own terms. Zain KSA reported Q1 2026 revenues of SAR 2.66 billion with a net profit of SAR 201 million, compared to just SAR 92.8 million in the same period last year, building on the company’s highest-ever annual revenues of SAR 11 billion in 2025.

Though Zain is headquartered in Kuwait, its footprint stretches across the African continent, with operations in Sudan, and through financial services and connectivity partnerships in several other markets. Africa-based readers will recognise Zain as an active player in the region’s digital economy story.

Sudan, in particular, delivered one of the most dramatic recoveries in the group, with revenue surging 92% to $661 million in full-year 2025 and EBITDA jumping 143%. Net income soared to $290 million as Zain restored 814 network sites and brought coverage to 90% of safe areas in the country, growing its subscriber base 22% to 12.3 million.

The Q1 2026 results follow what was already a landmark 2025 for the group. Full-year 2025 net earnings reached KD 239 million the equivalent of $777 million up 103% year-on-year, making it a 13-year profit high at the time. Consolidated revenue grew 14% to KD 2.3 billion, with data and fintech revenues rising 13% and 28% respectively.

The Q1 2026 results suggest that momentum has carried into the new financial year.