­Kuwait based Zain has reported a 17.4% drop in its third quarter profits of US$213.2 million, as the company was hit by significant currency fluctuations in Sudan, a key market for the Zain Group.

The currency losses amounted to approximately US$146 million over the past nine months the company said in a statement.

Revenues also fell, by 5.4 percent to US$1.11 billion.

Commenting on the results the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zain Group, Assad Al Banwan said: "The Group's overall performance during the 9 months to the end of September 2012, has been encouraging. Earlier in the year we identified the difficult economic conditions being faced in many of the markets in which we operate, and despite these adverse conditions, we have been able to produce results that show stability and consolidation year-on-year."

By excluding the currency translation impact for the nine month period, Zain Group would have reported a growth in revenue amounting to 1.5% year-on-year, while EBITDA would have been up by 0.7% as compared to the same period last year.