Etisalat Group has reported consolidated revenue of AED12.9 billion (USD3.5 billion) for the third quarter of 2017, a decrease of 3% from AED13.2 billion in the year-ago period. The UAE-based company said revenue was impacted by unfavourable exchange rate movements, mainly in Egypt. EBITDA also declined by 3% year-on-year, to AED6.6 billion, while consolidated net profit after federal royalty grew from AED1.9 billion in 3Q16 to AED2.4 billion twelve months later. The 29% growth was attributed to lower depreciation charges, higher net finance income, lower losses from discontinued operations and incurring forex gains during the period, as compared to forex losses in Q3 2016.
In operational terms, Etisalat had 12.5 million subscribers in its domestic market at the end of September 2017, including 10.6 million mobile users (up by 3% y-o-y) and 1.1 million fixed broadband users (+2%). Its Maroc Telecom division, which has operations in nine African countries, had 56.4 million customers at the same date, representing growth of 8% from 30 September 2016. The operation in Pakistan, however, saw its user base drop by 4% to 21.6 million, partly due to higher competition.