Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the Dubai telecoms operator known as du, reported a 60 per cent increase in its third-quarter net profit, driven by a surge in customers and rising revenue.
Net profit attributable to shareholders for the three months to the end of September was Dh502.37 million ($136.7 million), the company said on Monday in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
Revenue rose about 3.7 per cent annually to Dh3.29 billion, driven by a 5.7 per cent growth in mobile service revenue to more than Dh1.5 billion. Fixed services revenue stood at Dh939 million, up 5.3 per cent.
The company’s mobile customer base jumped 9.4 per cent annually to 8.1 million subscribers. Its prepaid customer base grew 9.2 per cent year-on-year to 6.5 million, while postpaid subscribers reached 1.6 million.
By end of the quarter, it added 85,700 mobile customers, 32,200 postpaid and 53,500 prepaid, and 13,800 fixed customers.
Du's nine-month profit, meanwhile, surged 37.5 per cent to nearly Dh1.26 billion as revenue rose nearly 7 per cent to Dh10 billion.
The strong performance “reflects the disciplined execution of our strategy, our commercial dynamism and the continuous innovation that we have been bringing to the market”, chief executive Fahad Al Hassawi said.
“We continue to invest in our IT infrastructure and 5G roll-out to enhance our customer experience and to create and unlock shareholder value while conducting our transformation journey towards a leading digital telco.”
In the third quarter, du's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased nearly 14 per cent on a yearly basis to Dh1.48 billion.
Ebitda growth was driven by “higher service revenues and an improved gross margin resulting in particular from a better revenue mix”, du said.
The company directed the majority of its capital expenditure, which stood at Dh527 million in the July-September period, towards 5G deployment “to enhance indoor coverage, our ongoing IT transformation and the expansion of our fibre network”.
The company's operating free cash flow increased by 65 per cent to Dh956 million.
The telecoms industry is going through a major transformation with the advent of new technologies that operators are trying to integrate into operations to expand their consumer bases and add new revenue lines amid intensifying competition.
At Dubai's Gitex Global exhibition, Mr Al Hassawi told The National that du is working with major technology companies to help push generative artificial intelligence into mainstream consumer services.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20EPD%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
