Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Emirates Telecommunication Group, Etisalat, plans to buy back $2 billion shares, according to Bloomberg.

Etisalat’s board recommended purchasing up to 5% of its paid-up capital, or 434.8 million shares, the Abu Dhabi-listed company said in a statement.

The UAE-based firm intends to cancel or resell these shares later, Bloomberg reported. 

“This is an alternate way to reward shareholders if one doesn’t want to increase annual cash dividend," head of research at Securities & Investment Company Nishit Lakhotia said. 

Etisalat reported a 24.16% decline in profits in the fourth quarter of 2017, registering AED 910 million ($247.7 million), compared to around AED 1.2 billion ($326 million) in the same period for the year before.