Abu Dhabi - Mubasher: Etisalat Egypt has accounted for 4% of the revenues of Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (Etisalat Group) during the first quarter of 2017 that totalled AED 12.5 billion, recording a 53% decline.

According to the company’s statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Tuesday, Etisalat Egypt’s revenues reached AED 500 million ($136 million) in Q1-17 compared to AED 1.6 billion ($315 million) in Q1-16.

The company attributed the decline in revenues to the fall of the Egyptian pound to the Emirati dirham.

Meanwhile, in the local currency, revenues increased by 5%, due to the growth in data services and the rise in the number of subscribers.

The telecom group statement noted that profits in Egypt declined 52% to AED 2 billion ($544 million), which is due to the changes in foreign exchange rate, as well as the rise in costs.

The group’s collective debt reached AED 22.7 billion by the end of March 2017 compared to AED 22.3 billion by the end of 2016, with an increase of AED 4 billion of which Etisalat Egypt dominated 12.77% or AED 2.9 billion.