Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has reported consolidated revenue of AED48.8 billion (USD13.3 billion) for the twelve months ended 31 December 2014, an increase of 26% from AED38.9 billion a year earlier. Growth was driven by the consolidation of Maroc Telecom, as well as a 9% year-on-year rise in domestic turnover to AED27.1 billion, thanks to subscriber growth and higher handset sales. Excluding Maroc Telecom, consolidated revenue increased by 5% to AED40.7 billion for full year 2014. Egyptian unit Etisalat Misr generated turnover of AED4.8 billion, up by around 2% from the prior-year, mainly attributed to growth in the data segment. Maroc Telecom saw revenue growth of 2% in 2014 to AED12.7 billion, while in Pakistan turnover declined by 1% year-on-year to AED4.7 billion, thanks to falling international incoming traffic that was not fully compensated by the strong performance of fixed and wireless broadband. Etisalat, which is 60% owned by the UAE government, said that EBITDA climbed 24% from AED18.9 billion in 2013 to AED23.4 billion the following year, mainly due to the consolidation of Maroc Telecom and continued strong domestic growth. Consolidated net profit after royalty was AED8.9 billion in 2014, compared to AED7.1 billion a year earlier, thanks to higher EBITDA, lower royalty (AED5.3 billion in 2014, compared to AED6.1 billion the previous year) and impairment charges that was partially offset by higher depreciation and amortisation expenses, lower share of results of associates, higher finance costs and forex losses.
Etisalat reported an aggregate subscriber base of 169 million at the end of December 2014, an increase of 14% from 148 million a year earlier, thanks to the acquisition of Maroc Telecom and strong growth in the UAE and Nigeria. Domestic mobile customers rose 7% year-on-year to over 9.0 million, driven by attractive promotional campaigns and new products and services, while UAE fixed line subscribers fell 5% due to the migration of customers to Etisalat’s eLife multi-play packages, which saw growth of 16% for the year. In Nigeria, mobile subscribers increased by 24% year-on-year in 2014 to 21.1 million, though in Pakistan the number of customers dropped by 7% to 26.3 million, impacted by the subscriber registration exercise and intense competition.