Etisalat, the UAE’s major telco, saw a massive 58% rise in 2Q profits, helped by an exceptional element, the sale of a portion of its Saudi Arabian affiliate (Mobily).
In a trading statement, Etisalat said profit attributable to
shareholders rose to 3 billion Dirhams ($817m) for the three months to
June 30.
Etisalat is the largest Arab telco by market value, and these results
are ahead of market expectations. The sale of a portion of its Mobily
stake sees its stake in the Saudi cellular operator fall from 35% to
26.25%.
Etisalat now has 6.83m mobile phone customers at the end of June, up
seven per cent from December 31, Etisalat said. Etisalat added about
200,000 new subscribers in the quarter. However, the business is no
longer a monopoly given the launch locally of ‘Du’ (in which it holds a
stake) last year. Revenues rose 21.5% to 6.38 billion Dirhams in the
second quarter, Etisalat said.
Etisalat, which has been expanding abroad as it faces new competition
at home, said total profit excluding minority interests was 2.84
billion Dirhams compared with 1.73 billion Dirhams a year earlier.
