ABU DHABI: Etisalat reported a 22 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday, missing analysts' estimates despite the UAE firm's acquistion of a majority stake in Maroc Telecom bolstering its bottom line.
The former telecom monopoly, which operates in 19 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit of 2.22 billion dirhams ($598.97 million) in the three months to Sept. 30.
This compares with a profit of 1.83 billion dirhams in the year-earlier period.
Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Etisalat, the Gulf's No.2 telecom operator by market value, would make a quarterly profit of 2.65 billion dirhams.
Quarterly revenue was 13.2 billion dirhams, up from 9.59 billion dirhams a year earlier.
Almost half of Etisalat's third-quarter revenue came from its international operations, up from 35 percent in the year-earlier period.
This rise follows Etisalat's purchase of a 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom for 4.14 billion euros in May.
Former monopoly Maroc Telecom also has operations in Gabon, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali. (Reuters)
