Etisalat net profit up 19.87% in first nine months

The United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) state-owned fixed and mobile telecoms service provider Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) reported that net income for the nine months to 30 September 2003 reached AED2.2 billion (USD600 million), a 19.87% rise on the year-ago period. Revenues rose by 16.8% to reach AED6.85 billion (USD1.86 billion). Etisalat was established in 1976 as an amalgamation of the public telecoms operators of each of the seven states making up the recently formed UAE. It holds a monopoly on the provision of fixed line and mobile services in the country, despite the fact that the government is facing increasing pressure from international organisations to liberalise the telecoms industry. By the end of 2002 the number of fixed lines in service stood at almost 1.1 million, giving the UAE a teledensity of 34.2%. Etisalat launched mobile GSM-900 services in September 1994 and by the end of 2002 boasted a total subscriber base of 2.4 million, which equates to a mobile penetration rate of 75%.