Saudi’s Mobily suspends CEO after earnings debacle: statement

Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has suspended its chief executive Khalid al-Kaf, the kingdom's No.2 telecom operator by subscribers said on Sunday.

The company's decision, effective from Nov. 21, follows errors in Mobily's accounting that led the company to restate 18 months of previously-announced earnings, wiping out $381 million of prior profits.

Kaf will be suspended until Mobily's audit committee finishes a probe into these accounting errors, according to a statement to Riyadh's bourse

Deputy Chief Executive Officer Serkan Okandan will run Mobily's operations in the meantime. Okandan was appointed in mid-October, just prior to the company's shock earnings announcement.

Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat owns 27.5 percent of Mobily and Okandan is also chief financial officer of the United Arab Emirates' operator.

On Nov. 3, Mobily cut its profits for 2013 and the first half of 2014 by a combined 1.43 billion riyals ($381.2 million) and also reported a 71 percent drop in third-quarter profit. ($1 = 3.7516 Saudi riyals)