Etisalat today announced its third quarter financial results for the nine-month period ending 30 September 2007. The corporation has seen growth in consolidated revenues of 30 percent compared to the same period in 2006, and net profits of AED 5.534 billion.
Etisalat’s consolidated revenues for the period was recorded at AED 15.38 billion, showing an increase of AED 3.57 billion, approximately 30%, over 2006 figures. Earnings Per Share rose to AED 1.11 in the year to date from AED 0.88 in Q3 2006. Net assets increased in value by 21% in the period, reaching AED 25.828 billion by end of September 2007. Capital expenditure for Etisalat reached AED 2.28 billion during this period.
Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: “Etisalat today is in a powerful position. Our successes locally and internationally are proving our strategy has significant weight. We remain one of the most financially sound telecommunication groups and our reputation for leadership continues to grow across Asia, Africa and also within the Middle East. Our home business is continuing to grow, fuelled by our long-term vision and investment in the latest technologies, but our growth is now also being accelerated by our international subsidiaries.”
Etisalat’s UAE operations continued to perform strongly with the number of mobile subscriptions exceeding the 6 million mark for the first time. Today Etisalat records 6.2m mobile customers, equivalent to a penetration of 147%. Etisalat also witnessed growth in fixed-line services with telephone subscriptions growing to 1.32m lines and Internet users growth to more than 2.5m.
Mr. Omran added “During this period we have taken a controlling majority interest in Zanzibar Telecom Limited, Zantel. We also continue to invest in the roll out of services in our two most recent operations in Egypt and Afghanistan, which are performing strongly in their launch periods. We are also pleased to announce that we have agreed to acquire 40% of a Greenfield operation in Nigeria, which will bring our footprint to 15 countries in total.”
During the quarter, Etisalat's subsidiary in Egypt, Etisalat Misr was named New Operator of the Year by a panel of international judges, in a ceremony organized by Comms MEA magazine.
Mr. Mohammed Al Qamzi CEO of Etisalat added: “The UAE market continues to grow strongly, fuelled by new services, particularly in the mobile sector. We have introduced several convenient payment services in the period, including the calculation and payment of Zakat and road fines. We are now planning to introduce our Next Generation Network (NGN) services across the UAE, enabling us to offer bundled triple play services to over 100,000 households.”
Etisalat attended GITEX 2007 in September, participating in the GulfComms halls and launching many new services, products and alliances targeting the consumer and business customers.
New services launched in this quarter include:
Zakat Payment – A worldwide first, Etisalat and the UAE Zakat Fund, one of the leading independent federal entities in the UAE, have partnered launch a new free service that helps customers calculate and pay their ‘Zakat’ amounts using their mobile phones.
‘MORE’ Loyalty Scheme - Etisalat unveiled further details of its reward programme, ‘MORE’, and also announced that its first Reward Points Partner is Skywards – the innovative frequent flyer programme of Emirates Airline and Sri Lankan Airlines.
‘Freedom Package’ for people special needs – As part of its commitment to the community Etisalat has introduced services for people with special needs, including a variety of its existing products bundled with tailored services.
International Money Remittance – Etisalat has partnered with Smart in the Philippines to allow money transfer via mobile phone
Mobile Data USB Modem – Etisalat launched the UAE’s first USB Modem, to allow subscribers easy access to the country’s advanced HSDPA network. Etisalat’s mobile data coverage now extends over 97% of the country
Greetune – Etisalat has extended its popular greeting tune service with content partnerships with Sony BMG and EMI. Etisalat has also introduced a corporate version of its service allowing commercials to be recorded and played. Consumers now also have the option of buying and gifting Greetunes to their friends and loved ones
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
