By: Bedour El-Raie

Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Etisalat’s stock plunged 5.07% to AED 14.10 after an hour and half of trading on Wednesday, registering its highest drop since December 2014, after the company reported its financials for the first half of the year and disclosed its interim profits for the period

The stock, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), fell to a 10-session low and traded for AED 26.41 million as 1.84 million shares changed hands through 165 transactions.

The general index retreated 0.85% by 11:30am UAE time to 4,814.16 points with a total turnover of AED 95 million and 49.11 million shares traded.

Earlier today, Etisalat’s board said it approved an interim cash dividend of 40 fils per share for the first half of 2015, with distribution slated for 18 August to shareholders registered on 9 August.

The telecom operator’s board recently approved financials for H1-15, which stood at AED 3.95 billion ($1.075 billion), a decline of 15.23% from AED 4.66 billion ($1.27 billion) in the same period in 2014.

Market analyst Waddah Taha said Etisalat’s profit decline was mostly likely due to losses in Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat “Mobily” as well as a rise in funding costs, losses in currency exchange and a rise in the value of franchising.

The telecom operator previously posted a net profit of AED 2.45 billion ($666 million), a rise of 14% y-o-y compared to AED 2.15 billion ($585 million).

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi