Dubai: Etisalat Group on Tuesday reported around six per cent increase in second-quarter profit after royalty to Dh1.97 billion compared to Dh1.87 billion during the same period a year earlier, mainly fuelled by growth in Asia operations.
The telecom operator’s revenues during the quarter stood at Dh9.88 billion, an increase of 20 per cent from Dh8.25 billion a year ago.
Revenues from international operations soared 50 per cent to Dh3.5 billion and total subscribers from 15 countries increased 14 per cent to 143 million. The Group reported strong net additions of 18 million subscribers while UAE subscribers grew 12 per cent to 9.9 million.
Revenues from Asia cluster grew 335 per cent to Dh1.66 billion. Growth is impacted by the consolidation of the operations in Pakistan with effect from January 1, 2013.
Revenues from the UAE market increased 12 per cent year-on-year to Dh6.3 billion. The growth was primarily due to customer acquisition, an increase in the revenues of data and handsets sales.
“The results demonstrate that Etisalat Group is absolutely on the right track and able to continue to add value to its subscribers, shareholders, employees and the communities it serves,” Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, the Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Group, said in a statement on Abu Dhabi stock exchange.
He said the board’s declaration of interim dividend of 35 fils per share is a strong indication of our steady performance and the success of the Group’s strategic plan, which has been supported by a clear and ambitious vision from our top executives.
The distribution of dividend is set to commence from August 15.
“Etisalat’s strong performance continued in the second quarter. In terms of number of connections, Etisalat Group is just short of 150 million customers.
“IDC believes that five per cent quarterly revenue growth is substantial considering the increasing saturation levels and competitive intensity in the UAE,” Hassan Sandila, senior telecom analyst at IDC, told Gulf News.
He said the outlook for group remains positive as it tries to arrest the decline in local market share, enhance its licence agreements in Africa and continue to bid for lucrative markets across the developing world.
The Group’s first-half revenue increased to Dh19.5 billion compared to Dh16.5 billion during the same period last year.
Revenues from Egypt fell nine per cent to Dh1.15 billion due to currency valuation against the Dirham while revenues from Africa slipped one per cent due to the competitive environment in Ivory Coast and currency devaluation in Sudan.
“We believe that Etisalat’s quarterly revenue and subscriber growth coupled with a strong dividend payout per share will continue to attract investors,” Sandila said.
The group’s capital expenditure increased year-on-year by 118 per cent to Dh1.85 billion, focusing mainly on licence acquisition, enhancing coverage and expanding networks.
Capital spending in the UAE increased 53 per cent year-on-year during the quarter to Dh625 million.
Consolidated cash balance reached Dh10.99 billion as of June 2013 leading to a net cash of Dh5.24 billion after deducting the debt balance.
Etisalat shares closed 1.27 per cent up at Dh11.95 on the Abu Dhabi bourse.
