Record revenue and profits achieved for the full year
Total revenues grew 35% to AED 5.3bn
Net profit before royalty reached AED 528mln for the first time
Dubai, 24 February 2010 - Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC ("du") today announced full year results to 31 December 2009, recording another successful year of growth with net profit before royalty at record highs reaching AED 528 million.
Highlights for the full year:
- 1,011,200 active mobile customers acquired, an increase of 41% year on year to 3,477,000
- Post paid active mobile subscribers more than doubled during the year to 137,500 from 66,300 in 2008
- 45% growth in du's fixed line subscriber base from 280,300 to 405,900 lines at year end 2009
- Total full year revenues grew by 35% to reach AED 5,339 million compared to AED 3,951 million in 2008
- EBITDA reached AED1,064 million, up from AED 369 million for FY 2008, an impressive 189% year on year growth
- Net profit before royalty reached a record AED 528 million up from AED 8 million in FY 2008
Highlights for the fourth quarter:
337,900 active[1] mobile additions during the quarter, the highest level in 2009
Healthy 27,500 increase in post-paid additions in Q4, similar to the previous quarter
- Total revenues reached AED 1,530 million up 25% vs. Q4 08
- EBITDA[2] of AED 366 million, a strong increase of 55% vs. Q4 08 (AED 236 million)
- Net profit before royalty of AED 209 million for the quarter, 155% growth vs. Q4 08 (AED 82 million)
Commenting on the results, Ahmed Bin Byat, Chairman of du, said, "2009 was another year of success for du marked by record revenues and profits. This is, in the prevailing challenging global economic climate of 2009, a remarkable performance of growth and a credit to du's management and employees who tirelessly continued to provide innovation, value for money and excellent service to our customers.
Not only are we committed to our subscribers, we are devoted to the development of the telecommunications sector and the nation's economy as a whole. One of the pillars of this commitment is our Emiratisation program where we will continue to drive and promote the employment of UAE Nationals, a program that is rooted in quality and performance.
2010 will see du enter a new phase of maturity. Our strong financial performance, driven by rapid subscriber growth over the past three years, provides us with a solid foundation for the next phase of our development. We remain focussed on delivering quality and a fulfilling customer experience and will continue to invest in our business to capitalise on the wealth of opportunity we see before us".
Osman Sultan, du's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Three years exactly after launching our services, we have reasons to be proud of our achievements so far. Our position in the mobile market is a strong one and we have realized our ambition, in a short time, of becoming a serious player in the UAE. Our value proposition in fixed telephony, broadband Internet and IPTV is the most developed, integrated and technically advanced in the Arab world. We see good growth prospects ahead by widening our appeal to more and more customers through the expansion of our offering nationwide via an infrastructure sharing agreement.
In addition we have been building the foundations for the company to enter efficiently, through partnerships and joint ventures, into the fast growing universe of digital content and the Internet, allowing progressive ramp up of new revenue streams in the years to come.
In 2010 we will reinforce the foundations that will ensure the business is positioned to continue achieving long term growth and sustainable profitability. We also look to providing increased value and satisfaction to our customers with an ongoing drive towards quality, choice and performance. We will continue to re-engineer the way we do business to help reduce costs and improve efficiencies to the overall benefit of our business.
I see 2010 being a year in which we improve business efficiency, raise Emiratisation and continue to drive our objective to achieve long term growth and sustainable profitability which will benefit to our customers, employees, shareholders and of course the community at large."
Combined revenues improved by 35% year-on-year to AED 5,339 million, and for Q4 09 reached AED 1,530 million the highest ever recorded in a quarter. All revenue streams displayed quarter-on-quarter growth, with mobile being the primary revenue driver increasing year-on-year by 42%.
Throughout 2009 subscriber growth remained strong, driven by mobile subscriber acquisitions and supported by the launch of new offers and enrichment of existing products. Mobile finished the year with 3,477,000 active subscribers, including 337,900 active mobile subscribers added in Q4 09.
The subscriber growth resulted in strong mobile revenues which reached AED 3,727 million for the year, up 42% year-on-year, whilst in Q4 09, the highest mobile revenues for a quarter were registered, reaching AED 1,110 million. Following rapid subscriber growth over the past three years, in 2009 we focussed on enhancing quality for existing customers and attracting new high-end users. This strategy is working, more than doubling our post-paid subscriber base during the year to 137,500 from 66,300 in 2008.
Fixed line, including fixed telephony, TV and Broadband, accounted for AED 970 million in revenues from 405,900 lines for the full year, increasing 17% year-on-year and 6% quarter-on-quarter, as a result of a continual growth in the subscriber base quarter-on-quarter.
The year was exciting for launches, including: Apple's iPhone; the Premier Plan and Business Super Plan for corporate customers; the Elite Plan, the first personalised, post-paid mobile package for high-end individuals; the enhanced WoW pre-paid card with a third option, 'more international', offering extra credit towards international calls; and IPTV and Video-on-Demand providing a high quality viewing experience for our customers. du also played an important part in two UAE milestones, providing wireless connectively on the new Dubai Metro and at Abu Dhabi's first Formula One (F1) racing event.
EBITDA performance was exceptional for 2009, increasing 189% year on year to AED 1,064 million compared with 2008, at AED 369 million. On a quarter on quarter basis, EBITDA increased by 55% to AED366 million compared to Q4 08 at AED236 million.
Total overheads increased to AED 2,443 million during the year, compared with AED 2,143 million in 2008, an increase of 14%. However, on a comparison of percentage of costs to revenue, overheads fell from 54% to 46% for the year, as a result of a considered and efficient management strategy.
Throughout 2009 we continued to develop and grow. Highlights for the year were many, crowned at year end by our best ever net profit before royalty of AED 528 million, up from AED 8 million in 2008. Q4 09 net profit before royalty was AED 209 million, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 155% versus AED 82 million in Q4 08.
Capital expenditure surpassed AED 2 billion in 2009 finishing the year at AED 2,427 million (AED 2,338 million FY 08), with AED 960 million accounted for during Q4 09. During 2009 we added 717 2G sites extending coverage to 99% of UAE's population, along with an extra 786 3G sites resulting in population coverage of more than 80%. The capital expenditure programme has resulted in the provision of improved capabilities and services to our customers through network upgrades, capacity expansion and improved network coverage and quality.
- Ends -
About du
du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE, in addition to internet and pay TV services that du provides in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, du's nationwide fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007. By the end of 2008, over 3 million people in the UAE chose to become du customers.
Among du's many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind 'WoW' recharge card (which offers customers the choice between more credit, more time and now 'more international' recharge option with additional credit on international calls) and Self Care.
For business customers, du business offers include Closed Business User Group and preferred International Destinations. du Broadcast Services division brings scalable media technology platforms and telecommunication solutions to the broadcast community through its world class teleport (Samacom) and Master Control Room (MCR) facilities.
du products and services for consumers and business are available through du's retail network, currently numbering 33 du shops located in strategic locations across the UAE, more than 3000 authorized dealers Or through du e-shop, accessible at http://www.du.ae/en/where-to-buy/eshop.html. du shops are a one stop shop for mobile service, carrier select and the payment of the service bills.
du is 39.5 percent owned by the UAE Federal Government, 19.75 percent by Mubadala Development Company, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications & Technology Company LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.
Awards to date
du's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Osman Sultan, received the prestigious Comms MEA '2009 Lifetime Achievement Award' in December 2009
Our work was recognised amongst a field of top tier international competitors when, along with our suppliers VOSS and Cisco, we received the highly-coveted Global Telecoms Business - 2009 Innovation Award.
du presented with an award for Best Middle Eastern Local Currency Deal 2008 by UK's EuroWeek
du won two prestigious awards at UAE Web Awards 2008. du e-shop portal won the best strategic online portal award in the e-commerce category and du media club website won the bronze award in the media and press category.
du corporate brand launch campaign awarded a Cristal MENA award in 2008
du declared 'Best Brand' at Telecoms World Awards Middle East 2007 for innovative branding and outstanding brand success
Second place in the New Brand Launch category at the GMR Effectiveness in Marketing Awards 2007
Silver Award for the best website in the ICT category at the UAE Web Awards 2007
du WoW TV Commercial awarded amongst the best 50 TV commercials in mobile telecom category in the world for 2007
For more information, please contact:
Lisa Johnson
Capital MS&L
T: +971(0)4 427 6444
Kate Delahunty
Capital MS&L
T: +971(0)4 427 64
1 Defined by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority as a customer that has sent or received a call, or sent an SMS or MMS within the last 90 days
[2] Earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a commonly used performance indicator in the telecommunications industry and demonstrates the underlying performance of a company
Press Release 2010
