Etisalat Group first-half profit falls 5.58%

Dubai

Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (Etisalat Group) on Thursday reported a 5.58 per cent decrease in first-half profit attributable to shareholders, the Abu Dhabi-based telecom operator said in a statement released on the ADX stock exchange.

On Wednesday, the operator said in a statement that it posted a seven per cent increase in first-half profit from the UAE to Dh4.2 billion.

In a detailed report on Abu Dhabi bourse on Thursday, the operator said its consolidated revenues for the first half stood at Dh25.29 billion compared to Dh26.2 billion a year ago, registering a fall of 1.15 per cent. That included a Federal Royalty payment of Dh3.2 billion, down from the Dh3.4 billion payment made in the first half of 2016.

For the second quarter, the Group’s profit attributable to shareholders fell by 14.71 per cent to Dh1.97 billion compared to Dh2.31 billion a year earlier, the statement said.

The operator said that the Group’s consolidated revenues for the second quarter declined by four per cent to Dh12.83 billion compared to Dh12.32 billion a year ago due to unfavourable exchange rate movements, mainly in Egypt.

In the UAE, the operator’s revenue increased by one per cent to Dh7.8 billion due to the growth in subscriber base with increased focus on data monetisation, eLife segment and strong handset sales.

But revenues from international operations decreased 11 per cent year on year to Dh4.9 billion.

Revenues from Egypt decreased by 46 per cent year on year to Dh0.6 billion while Maroc Telecom revenues declined by five per cent to Dh3.1 billion during the quarter.

The Group’s aggregate subscriber base stood at 139 million, reflecting a net loss of one million subscribers compared to 140 million a year ago.

The operator said that it maintained a strong subscriber growth in the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Benin, Gabon, Togo, Niger and Afghanistan.

In the UAE, subscriber base grew two per cent year on year to 12.4 million while mobile subscriber base grew three per cent year on year to 10.5 million, with a net addition of 0.3 million subscribers of which 45 per cent was in the high-quality postpaid segment.

The group’s consolidated capital spending increased by 25 per cent to Dh2.2 billion, representing 18 per cent of the consolidated revenues. The operator attributed the increase to higher capex spend in the UAE, Morocco and Pakistan.