Du's 2014 profit rises 6% to Dh2.11bn

Dubai-based Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co.’s (du) 2014 net profit stood at Dh2.11 billion after royalty, up from Dh1.99 billion in the previous year, registering an increase of 6 per cent.

Its net profit before royalty grew 22.8 per cent year-on-year to Dh3.70 billion versus Dh3.01 billion in 2013, the telecom firm said in a statement to Dubai bourse.

Revenues grew to Dh12.2 billion last year, a 13.3 per cent increase compared to Dh10.80 billion in 2013.

It has proposed a dividend of 20 fils, bringing the total annual dividend payment to 32 fils.

Du’s mobile data revenues increased 18 per cent year-on-year from Dh2.36 billion in 2013 to Dh2.79 billion, with data representing 29.7 per cent of mobile service revenues. Fixed line revenue grew to Dh2.25 billion, up 31.3 per cent over the course of 2013, the company statement said.

“EBITDA for the year reached Dh5.03 billion, an annual increase of 16.8 per cent. Data continued to drive the momentum in our business as customers’ demand for connectivity remained strong. As a result, demand translated into growth in mobile data revenue of 18 per cent year on year,” said Du CEO Osman Sultan.

Q4 net profit drops

Du’s net profit in the fourth quarter of 2014 after paying royalty fee to the government decreased to Dh512.7 million from Dh570.3 million in Q4 2013, a drop of 10 per cent.

Net profit before royalty was Dh915.6 million in Q4 2014, a 27.8 per cent increase compared to Dh716.7 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

According to the company statement, quarterly revenues increased 12.4 per cent to Dh3.23 billion as compared to Dh2.87 billion in Q4 2013; while Q4 EBITDA grew 17.8 per cent to Dh1.27 billion.

Total mobile customer base grew to 7.34 million by the end of Q4 2014 from 7.24 million in Q4 2013, the company statement said.

Mobile data revenue increased 18.5 per cent to Dh768 million in Q4 2014 from Dh648 million in Q4 2013.

In Q4 2014, there was a slight increase in mobile revenue to Dh2.43 billion from Dh2.19 billion in Q4 2013 driven by natural seasonal churn.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) lifted in Q4 2014 by 5.6 per cent to Dh109.3 per user from Dh103.5 per user in Q4 2013.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.