Etisalat announces financial results for the second quarter of 2009

The net profit for the same period in 2008 was Dhs5.045bn which included profit on sale of shares in Mobily of Dhs892m after federal royalty.

Excluding this exceptional item, the net profit after federal royalty for the six months ended June 2009 is Dhs440m (11%) higher than the same period in 2008.

Etisalat recorded net revenues of Dhs14.744bn for the first half of 2009. This shows an increase of 10% compared to the first half of 2008 (Dhs13.408bn).

Total assets recorded were Dhs67.245bn, an increase of 7% (Dhs62.918bn) compared to last year's total. Earnings per share for the first half of 2009 is Dhs0.64 against Dhs0.70 (Dhs0.58 excluding exceptional item) for the same period in 2008.

Mohammad Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said:

"The financial results for the first half of 2009, reflect that Etisalat was not directly affected by the global financial crisis. The growth in revenues achieved will help us expand and develop our national and international business units."

"We have reduced our operational expenditure in the period and have become even more selective in choosing our international investments. We are achieving this by making use of the current financial environment and searching for positive opportunities that arise during these times. Etisalat today is one of the largest telecommunications companies world wide. It provides services to more than 85 million subscribers from geographical base of 1.7 billion people. The number of Etisalat subscribers is expected to reach to 100 million during 2010," he added.

"Etisalat is a strategic partner in developing the telecommunication sector in international markets. The company has gone beyond offering traditional communication services, and is delivering state-of-the-art value added services across next generation wireless and wire lines services in Asia and Africa," Omran concluded.

Mohammed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat, said:

"Mobile penetration in the UAE has exceeded 200%. This makes the UAE the number one country in the world for mobile subscriptions."

"This high penetration rate reduces the opportunities for growth in number of subscribers, and gives a chance for cumulative growth in terms of rates, minutes of use and data traffic through mobile phones and 3G services that Etisalat provides," Al Qamzi added.

"Etisalat is committed to continue in this endeavor through the completion of its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network which will to support the economic and overall development in the UAE," he concluded.

The number of mobile users in the UAE has reached 7.26 million, and fixed line subscribers reached 1.33 million. The Internet subscriber base reached 1.23 million in the first half of 2009.