Dubai: Etisalat Group’s third-quarter net profit increased 16 per cent after the Abu Dhabi-based telecom sold off more than 92 per cent of its stake in Sudanese fixed-line operator Canar.
The telecom operator reported a profit of Dh1.9 billion for the third quarter and revenues of Dh13.2 billion, registering a growth of 3 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.
The telecom operator, which operates in 18 markets across Middle East, Africa and Asia, purchased a stake in Canar in 2004 and more than doubled its stake three years later. It sold the entire 92.3 per cent stake for Dh349.6 million in August to Sudan’s Bank of Khartoum.
Sukhdev Singh, vice-president at market research and analysis services provider AMRB, told Gulf News that etisalat was not making money from Sudan and it is good that the operator has exited the Sudan market.
So he said that etisalat is making higher average revenue per user from a lower subscriber base, after excluding Sudan.
In the UAE, revenue for the third quarter increased year on year by 4 per cent to Dh7.5 billion, driven by strong performance of mobile and eLife segments.
For the first nine months, etisalat’s profits increased by 9 per cent to Dh6.2 billion.
The subscriber base of Maroc Telecom, an etisalat unit, reached 52.3 million customers, representing a year over year growth of 3 per cent.
Etisalat acquired control of Morocco’s Maroc Telecom in a Dh20 billion deal in 2013 after signing a share purchase agreement to acquire Vivendi’s stake for €4.2 billion (Dh16 billion).
