Abu Dhabi: UAE-based telecom conglomerate reported Dh13 billion in consolidated revenue in the first quarter of 2023, on Tuesday. At constant exchange rates, revenue increased by 6.6 per cent.
Consolidated net profit stood at Dh2.2 billion while consolidated EBITDA reached Dh6.2 billion, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 48 per cent.
In the UAE, etisalat by e& recorded 13.9 million subscribers, an increase of 6 per cent compared to the same period of last year. The group’s aggregate subscribers reached 164 million, a year-on-year increase of 3 per cent.
Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO, e&, said: “The group’s performance in the first quarter indicates growth in the number of subscribers, revenues, and profits in local currencies, but was impacted by the strong fluctuations in the currency exchange rate within the Egyptian and Pakistani markets. This growth can be attributed to the group’s flexibility and efforts to provide innovative business solutions and the latest technologies to the communities we serve. Furthermore, the group has succeeded in building unique digital experiences supported by strategic investments, to enhance our business portfolio.
Key Q1 highlights
The group recently signed a binding agreement with Uber Technologies and its subsidiary Careem to acquire a majority stake in Careem’s Super App spinout with an investment of $400 million. e& has also successfully completed the acquisition of ServiceMarket, expanding the range of digital services on the Smiles online marketplace and offering more everyday services to its customers.
e& has partnered with E-Space to develop satellite-based cloud-native digital and IoT solutions optimised with edge AI to maximise the value of borderless smart connectivity and digital solutions across land, sea, and air applications.
The group has also partnered with Intel to focus on the deployment of edge data centres with a focus on a net zero carbon footprint, incorporating the latest 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
In addition, e& also announced its intention to integrate Microsoft Azure OpenAI GPT into its internal operations and processes, as well as a potential service to improve the customer experience and support the media industry in its daily tasks.
