Dubai: The UAE telco du connected with a 19.1 per cent increase in Q1-2023 net profit, to total Dh370 million, while subscriber numbers reached 8.2 million.
What’s particularly impressive is the intake of post-paid subscribers, which at 48,000 meant a seventh consecutive quarter of net additions. At the end of March, du had 1.5 million of these subscribers, a tally that should reflect well on future financials. (du says the increases are brought on by demand for its ‘unlimited data power plans’.)
According to Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO, “Our commercial momentum remains intact and our portfolio of products and services continues to attract customers across all units. We continued growing our broadband customers base by adding 18,000 home wireless and fibre clients.
“We delivered a remarkable performance in the first quarter with double-digit revenue growth. While we continue to seek revenue growth and improve our market position, we are determined to improve profitability.”
Revenue upturn
Revenues in the January-March phase grew 10 per cent to Dh3.44 billion. Mobile service revenues remained on recovery track - the 'excellent performance of the postpaid segment drove a revenue growth of 6.3 per cent to Dh1.49 billion.
Fixed services revenues were up 15 per cent to Dh936 million on 'sustained demand from consumer and enterprise customers'. Service revenues were up 9.5 per cent to Dh2.42 billion, while other revenues grew 11.2 per cent to Dh1.01 billion due to a 'recovery in handset sales and sustained growth of our ICT unit'.
As we transition to a digital-first telecom operator, our infrastructure investments remain a key element
to provide best-in-class customer experience
Handset revenues increased 30.4 per cent to Dh282 million on improved supply chain and higher availability of smartphones. (Retail sector sources confirm the sizeable interest in smartphone upgrades among resident consumers and visitors through the first quarter.)
The company's capex spend totalled Dh408 million (with a 'capital intensity' of 11.8 per cent). "Our spend during the quarter was focused on expanding our fibre network and our ongoing IT transformation," du said in a statement.
