Business | Telecoms
Mobily stake reduction earns etisalat Dh1.41b
etisalat has reduced its stake in its Saudi venture, Mobily, by 20 per cent, earning about 1.44 billion Saudi riyals (around Dh1.41 billion) in capital gains.
- By Ahmed A. Elewa, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:14 April 13, 2008
Abu Dhabi: etisalat has reduced its stake in its Saudi venture, Mobily, by 20 per cent, earning about 1.44 billion Saudi riyals (around Dh1.41 billion) in capital gains.
The total revenues of Mobily's founders amounted to 5.5 billion riyals.
etisalat and other co-founders of Mobily were obliged after three years of operation to sell 20 per cent of their stake in Mobily, according to the regulations of Saudi Arabia's stock exchange.
With a stake of 26.25 per cent, or 131.25 million shares, etisalat's share of the total market value of the company exceeded 7.9 billion riyals. The company had invested 1.3 billion riyals in Mobily in 2004.
The sale of 20 per cent or 26.25 million shares reduces etisalat's stake in Mobily to 20.1 per cent, or 105 million shares.
etisalat yesterday revealed the details of its operations in 2007, indicating an increase in the share of its international operations' contribution to its revenues from zero in 2006 to 4.4 per cent in 2007.
Revenues from domestic operations accounted for 94.9 per cent of the revenues compared with 99.4 per cent in the previous year.
Mobile voice services accounted for the majority of the company's income, as the number of subscribers increased to 6.37 million in December 2007, generating Dh13.55 billion, compared with revenues of Dh10.19 billion in 2006.
Meanwhile, the fixed-line subscribers touched 1.32 million, generating Dh3 billion, or 15 per cent of etisalat's revenues, compared with Dh2.75 billion or 17 per cent of revenues in 2006.
etisalat's internet subscribers increased to 875,000 in 2007 compared with 660,000 in 2006. The subscribers generated Dh1.46 billion compared with Dh1.08 billion in 2006.
etisalat's total assets amounted to Dh52.5 billion as on December 31, 2007, compared to Dh46 billion a year earlier.
More from Telecoms
More from Business
Business Editor's choice
-
Do unemployment figures flatter to deceive?
Jobseekers and recruiters give out mixed signals ranging from optimism to downright despair even as official data show recovery
-
Banks can increase their share
Longer opening hours, more locations outside cities and lower charges can help
-
Geepas idea blossomed in Dubai
The journey led from a small shop in Bahrain to a $1.27b company in the UAE
