Etisalat announces strong domestic growth

UAE incumbent Etisalat has announced record earnings for 1Q2007 from its local and international operations, which now service some 32 million subscribers in total. Revenues were at USD501 million, up 37.3% on the same period in 2006, beating analysts’ predictions of 21.7% growth by some way. The former monopoly also claims to have added the most domestic wireless customers ever for a single quarter, despite the launch of services by rival du in February. More than 60% of Etisalat’s revenue came from its UAE mobile customer base, which stood at 5.78 million, up 278,000 from 31 December 2006. The company currently has operations in 14 countries across the Middle East and Africa and Asia. Its Saudi subsidiary Mobily has signed up close to seven million subscribers since launching operations in May 2005.