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Du Q2 revenue surges 13.7% to Dh3.02 billion

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, or du, on Thursday reported second quarter revenues of Dh3.02 billion, a 13.7 per cent increase on the same 2013 quarter.

The company, which expects to offer Internet-based phone calls and broadband services across the country before the year-end in a network sharing deal with rival etisalat, said it would issue shareholders an interim dividend of 12 fils per share as a reward for their continued support.

Du said its net profit before royalty was up 22 per cent on 2013 at Dh949 million. — Supplied photo

The telecom services provider said key drivers behind its solid performance included an uptick in fixed revenue of 30 per cent as well as an almost 10 per cent rise in mobile revenue fuelled by an increase in post paid customers. In addition, du’s efficiency strategy is continuing to deliver resulting in a reduction in overheads from first quarter.

Osman Sultan, du’s chief executive officer, said the double digit growth across many of key indicators and an increase in the number of higher-value post-paid customers shows that by continuously developing innovative propositions to meet customers’ requirements and rigorously implementing efficiency strategy, the company is able to deliver steady growth despite a highly competitive environment.

“Our strong performance is reflected in our net profit before royalty, which was up 22 per cent on 2013 at Dh949 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, for the quarter reached Dh1.29 billion, an increase of 17.9 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

Du said in its statement that data continued to be a key market driver during the quarter which translated into data revenues of Dh680 million in the second quarter, an 18.6 per cent increase on the same 2013 period as customers’ demand for connectivity remained strong.

“We are pleased to announce that the Board is recommending an interim dividend of 12 fils per share to be approved at the general assembly. Going forward, we are proud to be working under the umbrella of the UAE’s 2021 Vision to implement Smart Government and we look forward to outlining our plans to contribute to the transformation of Dubai into a Smart City in the near future,” said Sultan.

The network sharing agreement with etisalat is an important step for du.

Sultan said customers can expect to have the option to switch between operators for some services before the end of the year. Initially, services will include voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and broadband, while television streamed over the internet (IPTV) will be added later, he said.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com