Subscriber base boosts du revenue
dubai — Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the Dubai-based telecoms operator also known as du, said on Tuesday it recommended a cash dividend of 13 fils per share for the first half of 2017.
The UAE’s second largest telecoms company said it plans to distribute Dh589.3 million of interim dividends to shareholders, subject to approval at the general meeting in September 2017.
Last year, du distributed Dh594.3 million at 13 fils per share for the second half and paid 34 fils per share as annual dividend. In the second quarter of 2017, the company delivered Dh3.26 billion in revenue, up 6.2 per cent from Dh3.07 billion in the same 2016 quarter. Net profit before royalty was Dh974 million for the quarter.
Osman Sultan, EITC’s Chief Executive Officer, said the company had made steady progress in the second quarter of 2017, with a 6.2 per cent increase in revenue and a slight improvement in net profit.
He said the first half results are backed by the company’s commitment to the future development of a digitally-enabled ecosystem. “During the period, we achieved a milestone development in connectivity technology, with the success- ful testing of a 5G solution that will significantly upgrade connectivity speed for our users. With this initiative and more to come, we remain committed to a smart future, and the Government’s vision for a smart nation.”
He said that driven by growth in handset sales, wholesale and fixed revenues, total revenue reached Dh3.26 billion in second quarter 2017, representing a 6.2 per cent increase over the same period last year. “Revenue has also shown growth over the first six months of the year with a 4.3 per cent increase to Dh6.42 billion,” Sultan said.
He said du’s mobile customer base increased 1.5 per cent during the second quarter to 8.2 million customers, up from 8.1 million in the same 2016 quarter. “This was largely due to our strategy of focusing increasingly on attracting and retaining higher quality customers, with solid growth in postpaid customer additions.”
He said despite a steady performance during the quarter and the first half of the year, EITC continues to be impacted by challenging market conditions, with pressure on mobile rates and data monetization. Consequently, Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and net profit stand at the same level as second quarter 2016.
Outlining du’s roadmap, Sultan said the company had made further investments into Smart Dubai, the Virgin Mobile brand and adjacent markets. Du will continue to invest in the future generation capacity of the business; EITC is a digital enabler and will be able to create new revenue opportunity as digital transformation for both consumers and enterprises opens up new markets.
Sultan said one highlight for the second quarter of the year has been du’s progress with the introduction of the Virgin Mobile brand. “During the period, we began a programme of prelaunch customer registration and conducted trial tests. We enrolled a few select number of UAE residents to test the product and its customer service, and are happy with the feedback received. We look forward to the full commercial launch of the Virgin Mobile brand in the UAE soon, and with it, bringing a fully digital and premium customer experience.”