Etisalat Records Net Profits At Dh 2.178bn For The First Quarter of 2009
Etisalat Adopts International Financial Reporting Standards For the First Time
Etisalat today announced its interim financial results for the first quarter of 2009 in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards, in accordance with Securities and Commodities Authority regulations. In its filing, Etisalat announced Net Profits of Dh 2.178bn and Net Revenues of Dh 7.119bn for the first quarter of 2009.
The results reflect a 4% increase in Net Profits and a 13% increase in Net Revenues in comparison with the same quarter of the prior year. Etisalat’s Net Profits and Net Revenues in 2008, restated to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards, were Dh 2.096bn and Dh 6.280bn respectively.
Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share in the first quarter touched Dh 0.30 in comparison to Dh 0.29 in the first quarter of 2008.
Mohammad Omran, Chairman of Etisalat said: “Etisalat continues to achieve growth in both revenues and profits, despite the many economic challenges which the world is facing. No sector is immune to the effect of today’s financial climate, but we are delighted that we are continuing to achieve growth.”
He continued: “Besides our growing revenues, we are continuing to reinforce our financial position. We are now looking for new investment opportunities. We are continuing to study many different markets for the best opportunities that will add to Etisalat’s reputation and support our ambition to become one of the largest ten operators in the world. We have identified Syria and Lebanon as having potential for 2009, and we await an appropriate opportunity to participate in these markets. Etisalat has already started the operational procedures in India through selecting partners and network providers, while the commercial launch is expected during the second half of 2009.”
Mohammad Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat said: “Etisalat achieved excellent results both financially and operationally in the first quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2009 we launched many new, high quality services. One of the most important was the introduction of the iPhone 3G in the UAE. Our agreement with Apple makes Etisalat one of the first operators to launch this device in the Middle East. We have also completed the testing of a new HSPA+ mobile network infrastructure, which has recorded download speeds of 20.37Mbps, along with many other advanced services.”
“In our ongoing efforts to provide a world class infrastructure within the UAE, we announced that Abu Dhabi will become the first capital city in the world to become fully connected by Fibre-to-the-Home in the second half of 2009. This deployment is testament to the continuing efforts of Etisalat to equip the UAE with the infrastructure to ensure it remains the Middle East’s hub for business and tourism.”
Etisalat mobile subscribers in the first quarter of 2009 reached 7.341 million and fixed-line subscribers were recorded at 1.349 million. Internet customers were recorded at 1.202 million.
