Operator Etisalat said it will see its net profit cut by AED162 million ($44 million) after Mobily, its Saudi affiliate, restated its net profit recently.

The UAE-based group – which owns 27.46 per cent of Mobily – concluded that the impact of the changes are “immaterial”, accounting for well under 2 per cent of its profit over the period (18 months) affected. It will account for the change in its Q4 numbers.

Mobily has restated figures for 2013 and the first nine months of 2014.

In a statement made to the Saudi stock market regulator, Mobily said that after “periodic internal reviews” it had discovered it had mistaken the timings of revenue recognition related to a customer loyalty programme.

It has also reassessed contracts related to its fibre-to-the-home rollout programme.

According to a Reuters report earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s market regulators have launched an investigation into Mobily, after it cut its 2013 profit by SAR740 million ($197 million), and first-half 2014 profit was reduced by SAR688 million.

But observers said that this may amount to a “temporary glitch”, noting that it has “actively engaged analysts and the investor community in the past”.