Etisalat Posts 5% Increase in 2009 Revenues

UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has reported its preliminary consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2009, announcing net revenues of AED30.83 billion (USD8.93 billion), an increase of 5% compared to AED29.36 billion posted in 2008. The company’s net profit for full-year 2009 rose to AED8.836 billion, up from AED8.511 billion a year earlier, which included profit from the sale of shares in Saudi cellco Mobily of AED892 million.

Excluding this exceptional item, net profit after federal royalty for 2009 would have increased by AED1.217 billion, 16% higher than 2008. Total assets increased 13% to AED40.38 billion compared to AED35.62 billion in 2008. Etisalat did not reveal quarterly figures, but Reuters has calculated 4Q09 profit at AED1.99 billion (39% higher than the year-ago quarter), based on previous financial statements.

The number of Etisalat’s domestic mobile subscribers exceeded 7.74 million at 31 December 2009, up 6% year-on-year, while fixed line customers reached 1.31 million (a fall from 1.358 million in 2008) and internet subscribers grew 16% in 2009 to total 1.33 million, although the company did not reveal how many of those were broadband users. In 2009 Etisalat launched its ‘eLife’ fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network and is currently working on making Abu Dhabi the first capital city in the world to be totally connected by fibre-optic infrastructure. The company is also aiming to make the UAE one of the first countries in the world to be entirely covered with fibre-optic services in 2011.

Etisalat Reports US$4billion H1 Revenue

UAE-based telecoms operator Etisalat has posted its fiscal results for the six months ended 30 June 2009, recording a 10% year-on-year rise in revenue to AED14.74 billion (USD4.01 billion). Meanwhile, net profit totaled AED4.59 billion for the first half of 2009, down from AED5.05 billion reported in the same period a year earlier, though 2008 results included AED892 million earned from the sale of shares in Saudi cellco Mobily. Excluding this exceptional item, net profit after federal royalty for the six months ended June 2009 was 11% higher than the same period in 2008. Total assets stood at AED67.24 billion at end-June 2009, up 7% year-on-year.

'The growth in revenues achieved will help us expand and develop our national and international business units,' said Mohammed Omran, chairman of Etisalat, adding, 'We have reduced our operational expenditure in the period and have become even more selective in choosing our international investments. We are achieving this by making use of the current financial environment and searching for positive opportunities that arise during these times.'

In terms of subscribers, the company posted a domestic mobile subscriber base of 7.26 million at 30 June 2009, down by 81,000 compared with the end of the first quarter. Domestic fixed line subscribers also fell by 19,000 to 1.33 million during the second quarter of 2009, although Etisalat's internet customer base grew from 1.20 million to 1.23 million in the same period. According to the chairman, Etisalat a worldwide subscriber base of more than 85 million subscribers from a population base of 1.7 billion, and expects customer numbers to reach 100 million in 2010.