Etisalat Q3 net profit down as expenses rise 22%

UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) generated revenue of AED8.041 billion (USD2.188 billion) in the three months ended 30 September 2011, an increase of 8.6% compared to the AED7.404 billion reported in the year-ago period. In a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Etisalat said that net profit attributable to shareholders fell slightly from AED1.739 billion in Q3 2010 to AED1.723 billion twelve months later, while operating expenses rose 22% from AED4.205 billion to AED5.142 billion over the same period. In the first nine months of 2011 the company generated turnover of AED24.011 billion, an increase of 3% year-on-year, while net profit dropped from AED5.605 billion in 9M 2010 to AED5.135 billion in the same period of 2011. Capital expenditure totalled AED2.97 billion in the first nine months of 2011, compared to AED3.436 billion twelve months previously. The operator ended September 2011 with 7.5 million domestic mobile subscribers, as well as 1.1 million fixed line users and 1.4 million internet customers.