DUBAI: Etisalat, the Gulf’s No. 2 telecom operator by market value, reported an 11 percent rise in first-quarter profit yesterday as its revenue and subscriber base increased and capital expenditure and taxes declined.
The former monopoly, which operates in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit of Dh2bn ($544.5m) in the three months to March 31, beating analysts’ forecasts for Dh1.8bn.
Etisalat, which has agreed to buy Paris-listed Vivendi’s 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom, generated quarterly revenue of Dh9.9bn, up from Dh9.6bn a year earlier.
The UAE remains Etisalat’s core market, providing Dh6.5bn of quarterly revenue, up 8 percent from a year earlier to account for almost two-thirds of the group total. “We will continue to expand our service offering and geographic footprint in order to diversify our revenue base,” Ahmad Julfar, Etisalat CEO, said in the statement. Reuters
