Etisalat Group today announced its consolidated financial results for H1 ending 30th June 2019.

H1 2019 Financial Highlights and Key Developments

• Etisalat Group subscriber base reached 143 million representing year on year increase of 2%
• Etisalat Group Consolidated Revenues for first half of 2019 reached AED 25.9 billion while consolidated Net profit amounted to AED 4.4 billion representing 3.1% increase year over year.
• Consolidated EBITDA totaled AED 13.3 billion, representing an increase of 2% year over year and resulting in EBITDA margin of 52%.
• Etisalat is the first telecom operator in MENA to provide 5G network inside Abu Dhabi’s new international airport, hence enabling it to become the first Airport in the region with 5G coverage allowing speeds of up to 1Gbps.
• Etisalat launches e-Wallet, the new mobile digital payment service in collaboration with Noor Bank.
• Etisalat collaborated with Microsoft as its strategic partner , to provide government entities, large enterprises, and small and medium enterprises with state of the art digital transformative solutions.
• Etisalat’s innovation program ‘Future Now’ launched 3 challenges covering the topics of multi-cloud, insurance on demand and industrial IoT, in addition to selecting with 5 startups for next stage.
• Etisalat unveiled Robotic Centre of Excellence to deliver automated solutions for greater customer satisfaction.
• Etisalat launched a smartphone self-service vending machine, a ‘first-of-its-kind’ in the UAE.
• Etisalat opens ‘Smiles UAE’ application to all residents and visitors in the UAE .
• Etisalat awarded private sector’s ‘Leading Practice in Internal Audit’ by UAE Internal Auditors Association.

International Recognition

• Etisalat achieved ‘The Most Valuable Telecoms Brand’ in MENA by Brand Finance.
• UAE is ranked as a global leader in Fiber to the Home (FTTH) penetration for a third year in a row, according to the leading industry body FTTH Council.

Essa Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Etisalat Group

“Etisalat’s performance in the first half of the year is a testimony of its regional leadership in the telecom sector. We have remained focused on our core business while demonstrating agility to transform and lead in the digital space driven by our bold vision ‘To Drive the Digital Future to empower societies’.

The launch of the first 5G network in the region is a major achievement as it opens up massive opportunities and adds value to both our customers and shareholders, it will help fast-track new innovative digital services. We have recently launched our mobile digital payment banking service e-Wallet, which is a solid step towards achieving the smart vision of UAE and is in line with country’s overall objectives to achieve digital transformation.

“Etisalat is thankful to the visionary leaders of United Arab Emirates for their continuous support of the telecom sector and the management team for staying committed and focused to achieve our digital ambitions. We thank all our customers and shareholders for the continuous motivation that helped spark growth, contribute to our success, transformation and innovate boldly to make an impact in the near future.”

Eng. Saleh Al Abdooli, CEO, Etisalat Group

“Etisalat Group’s solid financial performance in the first half of 2019 is a result of our sincere efforts in building and investing in future networks while focusing on enabling innovation, and accelerating digital transformation across our operations.

“While Expo 2020 was the first major commercial customer in MEASA to partner with Etisalat on 5G, Etisalat remains proud of its accomplishments as the first telecom operator to launch the first commercial 5G network in MENA. Through our network rollout and the pioneering launch of the first 5G handset in the MENA, we managed to provide our UAE customers with an opportunity to experience the power of 5G technology before many others. We have also empowered visitors at Abu Dhabi international airport with indoor ultra-high speed 5G connectivity, making it the first airport in the region with 5G coverage.

“These breakthrough achievements were only possible due to sincere commitment and focused efforts on key strategic priorities that would enable a smarter digital future, transform the ecosystem and open up opportunities to engage with business and customers in new ways. 5G will forever change the way we work and live by bringing positive impact on societies, industries and economies.

Etisalat remains grateful to the country leadership for their continuous support, thankful to our customers who are at the heart of everything we do and our shareholders for their constant encouragement, our focus will be to continue investments in futuristic solutions and next generation technologies to deliver the best-in-class services and solutions.”

Subscribers

• In the UAE the subscriber base reached 12.4 million subscribers in H1 of 2019, while Aggregate subscriber base reached 143 million, representing a year over year increase of 2%.

Revenue & Net Profit

• Consolidated revenues amounted to AED 25.9 billion and consolidated net profit after Federal Royalty amounted to AED 4.4 billion representing a year over year increase of 3.1% and resulting in a net profit margin of 17%.

EBITDA:

• Consolidated EBITDA totaled AED 13.3 billion, representing an increase of 2% year over year and resulting in EBITDA margin of 52%.

EPS

• Earnings per share (EPS) amounted to AED 0.51 in the first half of 2019; a 3% increase from the same period last year.