Etisalat reports 8% first-quarter profit growth

Subscriber numbers across its markets grew 4% to 156 million

Abu Dhabi's Etisalat reported revenue of Dh13.2bn for the first quarter of 2021. Courtesy Etisalat

The UAE's biggest telecommunications operator Etisalat said net profit for the first quarter of 2021 increased by 7.9 per cent on the same period last year.

Consolidated profit after payment of a federal royalty increased to Dh2.3 billion, Etisalat said.

Revenue stood at Dh13.2bn, the company said. In the first quarter of 2020, Etisalat announced revenue of Dh13.1bn.

“Etisalat Group’s first-quarter results are a continuation of the strong performance the company has achieved over the past year due to the resilience and agility shown across our business operations," group chief executive Hatem Dowidar said.

"The company generated record results in the new hybrid scenario, helping consumers adapt to a new work-and-learn-from-anywhere reality while continuing to deliver innovative services subscribers require and demand."

Etisalat, based in Abu Dhabi, was founded in 1976 and is the UAE's oldest telecoms company.

It has operations in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, serving more than 156 million customers – an increase of 4 per cent year on year.

Subscriber numbers in the UAE stood at 12.4 million, which was 300,000 lower than that reported in the first quarter of 2020.

The company's various divisions "rallied to support our customers, with technology playing a central role in keeping our society, economy and lives connected", Mr Dowidar said.

He said Etisalat planned to be "the exemplary adopters of digital transformation" by shifting its operating models, investing in new technology and generating new streams of revenue.