Du may generate up to Dh1 billion in new revenue from smart cities and data security

Du proposes a total annual dividend payment of 43 fils per share last year, compared with 32 fils per share in 2014.

Telecom operators are seeking alternative ways to make money to boost their profits. Ryan Carter / The National

New revenue streams from smart cities and data security could generate as much as Dh1 billion for du by the end of the decade.

Osman Sultan, du’s chief executive, said that “beyond telco” services such as data hosting would amount to 10 per cent of the company’s total revenue by 2020.

Despite generating increasing revenue from selling data packages, phone companies are earning less from fixed-line services as more people use Skype and other so-called voice over internet protocol (VoIP) applications.

Telecom operators are seeking alternative ways to make money to boost their profits and offer value to investors.

Separately, du proposed a ­total annual dividend payment of 43 fils per share last year, compared with 32 fils per share in 2014.

“We expect du to continue with the progressive dividend policy because it has a strong cash position and short-term investment,” said Nishit Lakhotia, the head of research at Securities & Investment Company in Bahrain. “The management as well intends to pay a higher dividend despite increasing royalty fees and capex.”

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