UAE-based telecom and technology conglomerate e& reported revenue of Dh13 billion in Q3 2022, a 2 per cent decline over the same period last year. At constant exchange rates, revenue grew 6 per cent year-on-year.
Consolidated net profit after royalty stood at Dh2.5 billion, up 2 per cent over the year-ago period.
For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue stood at Dh39.3 billion, down 1 per cent over the year-ago period, while net profit touched Dh7.3 billion, up 2 per cent.
“e&’s performance in Q3 2022 reflects our unwavering commitment to accomplishing more for the benefit of our customers, shareholders and the communities we serve. We are focusing our efforts on adopting flexible and agile business models that fuel our growth through innovation and creating new value propositions,” said Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO of e&.
“Given that e& was built on strong foundations, we remain confident in leading change for growth by reinforcing our commitment to enhancing the quality of our innovative solutions to meet and surpass our customer expectations through the accelerated digitalisation seen in the business landscape. We will continue our efforts to seize new growth opportunities and pursue strong partnerships that will ultimately maximise the potential of a holistic digital transformation for our customers, and the societies we serve.”
Growing subscribers
Aggregate subscriber base at the end of Q3 grew 4 per cent to 162 million, the company said, with 6.2 million added during the last 12-month period. In the UAE, active subscriber base increased by 11 per cent year-on-year and 1 per cent quarter-over-quarter at 13.3 million subscribers in the third quarter of 2022. Mobile subscriber base was up 12 per cent year-on-year to reach 11.6 million.
Lower expenses
Consolidated operating expenses for the third quarter stood at Dh8 billion, down 4 per cent compared to the same quarter of the previous year and a decrease of 1 per cent from the second quarter of 2022, highlighting the group’s efforts to control and optimise costs to offset inflationary pressure. The company saw lower marketing, staff, depreciation and consultancy costs, among others, during the period.
Total consolidated debt was Dh40.1 billion as of September 30, 2022, as compared to Dh25.7 billion as at December 31, 2021, an increase of Dh14.4 billion, with the increase mainly attributed to bank borrowings to finance the investment in Vodafone Group.
e& acquired around 2,766 million shares in UK’s Vodafone Group Plc, representing 9.8 per cent of Vodafone’s issued share capital, for $4.4 billion, the company said earlier this year.
