By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE listed telecom operators saw a 2.6% year-on-year decline in its profits during the third quarter of 2016, weighed down by higher expenses and revenues.

Total profits of Etisalat and du reached AED 2.7 billion ($735 million) in Q3-16, compared to AED 2.77 billion ($754 million) in Q3-15.

The telecom sector’s revenues totalled AED 16.38 billion in Q3-16, compared to AED 15.93 billion in Q3-15. Revenues amounted to AED 48.71 billion in the first nine months of 2016, up 1.66% from AED 47.92 billion in the same period of 2015.

In the first nine months of 2016, the telecom firms posted a 6.2% rise in its profits to reach AED 8.61 billion as compared to AED 8.11 billion in the prior-year period.

The UAE telecom firms have a good finance position despite the decline in their Q3-16 profits amid the fluctuation in currencies and intensifying competition, in addition to increasing challenges that came up after some customers started to use free calling applications, capital market analyst Waleed Khattab told Mubasher.

The telecom operators are likely to post good annual profits despite the rising challenges, Khattab noted.

Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat group generated profits of AED 2.24 billion in Q3-16, a decline of 1.75% from AED 2.28 billion in Q3-15. In addition, the company achieved 9.02% year-on-year rise in net profits to AED 7.23 billion.

Dubai-listed du reported a 7% decline in its profits to AED 457.24 million, compared to AED 489.84 million. In the first nine months of 2016, profits slid 6.6% year-on-year to AED 1.38 billion.

Translated by: Julian Nabil