Saudi Telecom (STC) has posted a 31% drop in second-quarter net profit to SR2.06bn in the three months to end-June, down from SR2.99bn a year earlier, Reuters has reported. STC did not explain the annual drop in quarterly earnings, but said a 30% fall in net profit during the first half stemmed from higher costs linked to the usage of external networks, lower tariffs for international calls, and higher spending to deploy optic fibre.