EARNINGS WATCH- Eastern Company reports record 42.5% jump in FY2017-18 net profit to EGP 4.2 bn: The state-owned Eastern Tobacco Company reported a record 42.5% y-o-y jump in net profit after tax to EGP 4.2 bn in FY2017-18, up from EGP 2.9 bn a year before, the company said in a filing to the EGX yesterday (pdf). The jump is attributable to a 27.2% y-o-y increase in revenues, which came in at EGP 13.4 bn, up from EGP 10.5 bn in FY2016-17.

These results come despite the company’s recent hike to cigarette prices in order “to accommodate the country’s new so-called sin tax, Bloomberg notes. They are, however, “a welcome development for Eastern,” which is slated to sell an additional 4.5% stake on the EGX in October under the state’s privatization program.

Orange Egypt reported a net loss after tax to EGP 252.5 mn in FY2017-18, up from a net loss of EGP 1.1 bn in the previous year, the company said in a statement to the EGX (pdf). Revenues were up 7.92% y-o-y for the year coming in at EGP 6.61 mn, up from EGP 6.12 mn a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Group said service revenues from Egypt grew 16.7% y-o-y in the second quarter of 2018, “driven by rising data penetration and usage,” according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). Total group revenues dropped 4.9% y-o-y to GBP 10.9 bn, despite a 9.4% y-o-y growth in service revenues, thanks to “strong local currency growth in Turkey and Egypt.“