Sales up but profits down at Etisalat and Du

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) telcos Etisalat and Du have both reported increases in revenues for full-year 2015, though profits were down for the year. In preliminary results announcements, Etisalat said sales climbed 6.6% to AED51.72 billion (USD14.08 billion) in 2015, from AED48.51 billion twelve months before, while Du posted a 0.8% increase in turnover to AED12.34 billion. Etisalat, which has operations in 18 markets across the Middle East and Africa, posted profit for 2015 of AED8.26 billion, down almost 4% on the year-earlier figure, as Du saw profits drop 8.1% to AED1.94 billion due to a 20.6% increase in royalty fees. Both firms will produce their full 2015 financial statements next month.