UAE: Mobile and fixed line services increase du profits 36.8% to Dh1.67 billion – News

The UAE’s second-largest telecoms operator, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., also known as du, said on Tuesday its net profit in 2023 rose 36.8 percent to Dh1.67 billion, as its customer base fixed and mobile customers grew exponentially.

Its full-year revenue grew 6.9 percent to Dh13.64 billion, thanks to sustained demand for mobile services and strong growth in fixed and postpaid services.

The Board recommended increasing the annual dividend to 34 fils per share, an increase of 41.7 percent. It has already paid 13 fils per share as interim dividend in August 2023.

“Our business remains highly cash-generative while sustaining investments in our future growth and our balance sheet remains unlevered and strong with Dh5.7 billion in available liquidity,” said Malek Sultan Al Malek, chairman of du.

Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, said the company managed to expand its 5G to 98.5 percent population coverage and increased the digitalization of touchpoints with its customers, with more than 75 percent of interactions with your customers online.

In a statement, it said full-year EBITDA rose 12.8 percent to Dh5.8 billion. Full-year capital expenditure was flat at Dh2.2 billion and operating free cash flow increased 23.2 per cent to Dh3.6 billion.

The company’s annual mobile customer base grew 8.3 percent year-on-year to 8.6 million subscribers. The strong net additions in the last quarter of 456,000 were mainly due to a significant increase in prepaid customers. The postpaid customer base also saw strong growth of 10.5 percent to 1.6 million.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, net profit increased 38.5 percent to Dh396 million, while revenue grew 7.3 percent year-on-year to Dh3,558 million. Mobile service revenue in the latest quarter grew 5.4 per cent to Dh1,576 million thanks to higher postpaid revenue.

Fixed service revenue in the fourth quarter reached a new high of Dh953 million, a year-on-year growth of 4 percent.

The telco’s EBITDA in the fourth quarter grew 9.6 per cent to Dh1.43 billion on higher service revenues.

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