Etisalat Announces AED1.9 Billion Net Profit in Q2 in 2012

Etisalat, the Abu Dhabi headquartered telecommunications group with operations in 16 countries, announced a net profit after federal royalty of AED 1.9 billion for the second quarter of 2012 ending 30 June 2012, representing an additional growth of 3 percent over the previous quarter, and a year-on-year growth of 17 percent on quarterly Group consolidated revenue of AED 8.252 billion, an increase of 4 percent year-on-year. Consolidated EBITDA increased by 16 percent to AED 4.3 billion over the same period last year, while EBITDA margin improved 6pts to 52 percent. Consolidated revenues increased by 4% year-on-year to AED 8.3 billion. Revenue from International operations grew by 14 per cent to AED 2.3 billion while their contribution to the top-line reached 28 per cent. Consolidated EBITDA increased by 16 per cent to AED 4.3 billion while EBITDA margin improved 6pts to 52 per cent. Net Profit after Federal Royalty increased by 17 per cent year-on-year to AED 1.9 billion.

Etisalat chairman Eissa al-Suwaidi said: "Building on the solid performance that the Group witnessed during the first quarter of the year, we have seen a year-on-year increase of 20.5 percent in operating profit and 17 percent net profit on the back of strong market development in Egypt, Benin, Gabon, Togo, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, a result of our on-going commitment to regional market development and growth. "Our strategy is clear. Following the industry trend to invest in overseas markets over the past decade, we are now focusing on creating value in high population, high growth markets such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Our network readiness in these markets, coupled with the introduction of innovative data services, are key drivers to economic growth. " al-Suwaidi added, "Telecommunications connects the unconnected, gives banking facilities to the un-banked, offers access to education and provides healthcare provision to even the most remote, rural areas. In short, telecommunications is a growth engine and nowhere is that impact felt more sharply than in the developing markets of Africa and the Middle East where the multiplier effect on GDP is significant." Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, group chief executive officer, Etisalat, commented: "Over the past five years, the Etisalat Group has contributed approximately 5 percent to the UAE's GDP, helping the Emirates rank 30th in the world according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook Database issued in April 2012." He added, "By consolidating our successful overseas expansion strategy with the introduction of new future-proof network technologies such as FTTH and LTE, we are confident that this positive growth trend will continue.

The Etisalat Group's investment in the nationwide Fibre To The Home (FTTH) and Long Term Evolution (LTE - 4G) networks in the UAE, as well as the Group's work in driving a national ICT policy, will be important factors in the economic growth of the nation." "We will continue to focus on providing innovative customer-oriented solutions that deliver a premium experience both in local and overseas markets to help transform the communities in which we operate and to accelerate social development and economic growth." Subscribers Etisalat Group aggregate subscriber number grew to 172 million by end of June 2012 representing YoY growth of 22 per cent and QoQ growth of 2 per cent. Subscriber growth mainly driven by new product and services in the matured markets and by further market penetrations in growth markets. In the UAE active subscriber base grew to 8.9 million subscribers representing YoY growth of 7 per cent and QoQ growth of 2 per cent. Mobile subscribers grew to 7 million representing a YoY growth of 9 per cent. Fixed line subscribers reached 1.1 million representing YoY decline of 8 per cent. However, This decline is due to the successful migration of customers to E-Life product (double play and triple play) that grew by 71 per cent to 0.45 million subscribers. Internet subscribers grew by 9 per cent to 0.8 million.