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UAE telecom giant e&, formerly called Etisalat, has posted a 20% year-on-year rise in net profit, as revenue rose to AED13.4 billion ($3.6 billion) and aggregate subscribers climbed to their highest level in the company’s history.
Total net income for the third quarter of the year reached AED3 billion, rising by approximately half a billion dirhams from AED2.5 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement.
Consolidated revenues increased by 3.3% to AED13.4 billion, while EBITDA went up by 2.7% to AED6.9 billion.
E&’s subscribers reached 14 million at the end of Q3, up by 4.7% over the same period last year, while aggregate group subscribers reached a record high of 167 million, marking a 3.3% growth.
“Once again [the company recorded] the highest number of subscribers in the Group’s history. This translated to net additions of 5.4 million during the last 12-month period, mainly due to strong subscriber acquisition in Egypt, Pakistan, UAE, Chad, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Togo, Niger and Benin,” the company also said in a disclosure on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
The mobile subscriber base grew by 4.6% year-on-year to reach 12.3 million, as prepaid and postpaid segments posted “solid” growth of 3.8% and 11.5%, respectively. Total broadband segment remained steady at 1.3 million subscribers.
Looking ahead, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO of e&, said the company will continue “to push boundaries of technology and innovation”.
“We remain committed to lead the change by taking our first steps in sustainable mobility and transforming our business with AI powered solutions while realising our vision of digitally empowering societies.”
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
