UPDATE 1-Kuwait telco Wataniya Q4 profit rises 57 pct

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* Q4 net profit 38.2 mln dinars vs 24.3 mln dinars a year ago

* Profit boosted by consolidation of Tunisia unit

* Q4 revenue 186.4 dinars

By Matt Smith

DUBAI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Kuwait's Wataniya on Wednesday reported a 57 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit as the telecoms operator included more consolidated earnings from its Tunisian unit.

Wataniya, majority-owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), made a net profit of 38.2 million dinars ($137.4 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of 24.3 million dinars in the same period a year earlier.

In 2011, Wataniya raised its stake in its unit Tunisiana to 75 percent. This enabled Wataniya to consolidate 100 percent of Tunisiana's revenue from the first-quarter of 2011 onwards, up from 50 percent, while it now includes three-quarters of Tunisiana's profit, also up from 50 percent.

Wataniya said revenue was 186.4 million dinars in the fourth quarter, up from 138.7 million dinars a year earlier.

The firm, which has operations in Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Maldives and the Palestinian territories, said its consolidated customer base was 17.8 million at the end of 2011, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.

The operator's shares closed 1 percent lower on Kuwait's bourse before the results were announced, trimming their 2012 gains to 3.1 percent. ($1 = 0.2780 Kuwaiti dinars) (Editing by Firouz Sedarat)