Dubai: Telecom operators in the UAE reported their first-quarter results on Tuesday. Etisalat Group reported a slight increase in profit while du suffered a 24 per cent fall.
Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat’s net profit after royalty or tax increased by 5 per cent to Dh2.1 billion due to lower depreciation, amortisation, lower network costs and lower forex losses.
Dubai-based du reported a Dh364.9 million profit due to higher costs and fall in prepaid mobile revenues, even though du registered a 2.5 per cent increase in revenues to Dh3.17 billion,
Etisalat Group’s consolidated revenue stood at Dh12.5 billion, a decrease of three per cent year on year. Out of this, its UAE subsiderary contributed Dh7.6 billion, an increase of five per cent.
Consolidated operating expenses for etisalat for the first quarter were Dh7.9 billion, a decrease of five per cent year on year from Dh8.3 billion.
Its aggregate subscriber base fell to 159 million, reflecting a loss of 4.9 million during the last 12 months. The lost subscriptions largely reflected consumers who failed to re-register under various regulatory requirements.
However, the company maintained its strong subscriber growth in the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Togo, Niger and Afghanistan.
In the UAE, active subscriber base grew 4 per cent to 12.5 million.
Du has been reporting eight quarters of declining profits, mainly due to fall in mobile [prepaid] revenues but it has registered a 7.9 per cent increase in fixed line revenues to Dh680 million during the quarter.
Its mobile revenue fell 0.7 per cent to Dh2.19 billion and the margins have been quite challenging. Du registered a 3.2 per cent increase in mobile subscribers to 8.35 million compared to 8.09 million a year ago.
The telecom operator expects to save more than Dh1 billion from cost optimisation in the next three years.
