Du owner EITC first-quarter profit drops 14.2% as revenues decline

Dubai-based telco reported a 6 per cent drop in quarterly revenue

EITC posted a nearly 6% dip in revenue in the first quarter of 2019. Ryan Carter / The National
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Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the parent of operator du, posted a 14.2 per cent year-on-year drop in first-quarter net profit, as revenues dipped.

Net profit for the three months ending 31 March dropped to Dh444.8 million, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Dubai Financial Markets, where its shares are traded. Revenues fell nearly 6 per cent to Dh3.1 billion from a year earlier.

EITC, which was founded in 2005 as the UAE’s second licensed telecommunications provider, did not give a reason for the drop in revenues in the bourse filing. The company includes the du brand, launched in 2007 and Virgin Mobile, which was rolled out in 2017.

Rival Etisalat, the UAE’s biggest telecom operator, posted a 5 per cent year on year increase in first quarter net profit of Dh2.2bn, on Tuesday, as it added more customers.

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