Dubai: The UAE telecom operator du recorded a profit drop for 2021, totalling Dh1.1 billion against 2020’s Dh1.44 billion. Revenues for the year were relatively flat at Dh11.68 billion against Dh11.08 billion from a year ago. du's Board of Directors have recommended a cash dividends proposal of 21 fils a share for 2021, of which 10 fils a share has already been paid.
The Dubai-headquartered operator continues to make heavy capital investments on its networks, to speed up transition to full-fledged 5G services. A 'record' Dh2.6 billion was expended as capital investment during the year. du's Board of Directors have recommended a cash dividends proposal of 21 fils a share for 2021.
According to Malek Sultan Al Malek, Chairman, “While 2020 was challenging and tumultuous, 2021 was a year of recovery and transformation. In 2021, we returned to growth thanks to our consistent and disciplined strategy execution supported by a gradual improvement of market dynamics.
"We continued our ambitious investment program to accelerate the transformation and deployment of our infrastructure into a next-generation network for the benefit of our customers."
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The telco closed the year with some slid numbers, with free cash flow of around Dh2 billion and “despite significant investments”, a balance-sheet “solid with Dh5.6 billion in available liquidity”.
In 2021, "We continued our ambitious deployment plans - we spent a record Dh2.6 billion on capex," said Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO. "This reflects our confidence in the future, our focus on fulfilling future customer demand and our ambition to be at the forefront of technological evolution. We have the financial flexibility to pursue our exciting growth journey."
