du revenues hit Dh8.9bn in 2011

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) on Tuesday announced its financial results for the full year and the fourth quarter of 2011, reflecting continued growth and further customer additions. The company also announced that it is proposing its first dividend payment to shareholders.

Highlights for the full year 2011: Revenues of Dh8.9 billion achieved; a 5.2 per cent increase compared to Dh7.1bn in 2010.

Ebitda increased 44.6 per cent to Dh2.9bn from Dh2.0bn in 2010.

Net profit before royalty grew by 47.8 per cent year-on-year to Dh1.8bn from Dh1.2bn the previous year.

Net profit after royalty stood at Dh1.1bn up from Dh1bn in 2010, reflecting the increased royalty payable to the UAE Federal Government for the year ended December 31, 2011 comprising of 15 per cent of net profit and five per cent of total company revenues. This resulted in a royalty payment of Dh715 million, compared to Dh184m for 2010, equating to 15 per cent of net profit.

Pro Forma earnings per share increased 60 per cent from Dh0.15 to Dh0.24 Free Cash Flow reached Dh1.4bn up from Dh36m in 2010.

Highlights for the fourth quarter: Total revenues for the fourth quarter reached Dh2.4bn, a 17.9 per cent increase compared to Q4 10 (Dh2bn) and an 8.0 per cent increase compared to Q3 11 (Dh2.2bn).

278,100 net active1 mobile customers added during the fourth quarter, ringing total mobile customer base to 5.2 million.

Sustained momentum in post-paid active mobile customer additions with 19,300 added in Q4 bringing the total to 362,800, up 39.6 per cent versus Q4 10 (260,000) and representing 6.96 per cent of the total mobile customer base.

Post-paid customers represented 42.1 per cent of growth in mobile revenues for the quarter.

340 basis point increase in data contribution to mobile revenues, increasing from 9.2 per cent in Q4 2010 to 12.6 per cent in Q4 2011.

Ebitda2 grew 25.7 per cent versus Q4 10 (Dh675.0m) to Dh848.3m and grew 11.8 per cent compared to Q3 11 (Dh758.7m).

Net profit before royalty increased by 15.4 per cent year on year to Dh497.4m in Q4 2011 versus Dh430.9m in Q4 10, representing a 1.8 per cent increase over the previous quarter of Dh488.7m.

Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman of du, said: "As we celebrate our fifth year of operation, I am pleased to report very strong financial performance and the continuation of our company's strong growth trajectory.

"Our strong financial performance during 2011 has led to the recommendation by the Board of Directors to propose our first cash dividend to shareholders of 15 fils per share The proposed dividend has been carefully considered, ensuring we can continue to invest in our people, network, systems, products and services to deliver consistent value to our customers and shareholders. We believe this dividend proposal is an important step forward in shareholder value creation and sets the right basis for future dividend growth.

"The decision to pay dividends celebrates the position that we have built in the market. By the end of 2011 we served more than 46 per cent of the UAE mobile market according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, an enviable achievement in just five years. Today, more than five million people across the Emirates actively use our services.

"Despite continued global economic uncertainty throughout the last three years, we have benefited from the stability and economic momentum of the UAE, which combined with the capabilities we have built in offering innovative and attractive customer propositions, and doing so with operational efficiency, has resulted in an even greater number of customers placing their trust in us, which has in turn led to very strong financial performance.