Du Q3 net profit rises 50%

Dubai Business News — UAE telecoms operator du beat analysts' expectations on Monday as it reported a 50 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit, driven by higher data revenue and contract mobile subscribers. Du made a net profit of Dh244.3 million ($66.5 million), compared with a profit of Dh163.1 million in the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the firm to post a quarterly profit of Dh214 million.

Du, which ended Etisalat's domestic monopoly in 2007, said revenues were Dh2.23 billion in the quarter, up from Dh1.74 billion a year earlier. Mobile subscribers, which accounted for more than 75 per cent of quarterly revenue, rose 162,000 from the second quarter to 4.94 million at September-end to give it a 45 per cent market share. Contract customers, which typically spend more than their pre-paid counterparts, "continued to grow", du said, and now account for 7 per cent of mobile subscribers.

Data revenue rose 46 per cent year-on-year to 167 million dirhams, proving just under 10 per cent of mobile revenue. Du said it had 639,700 fixed line customers in the third-quarter, up 24 per cent from a year earlier. It added 16,100 lines in the three months to Sept 30, implying slowing growth.

Reports from Emirates247.com.