UAE telecoms giant Etisalat posts rise in net profit to $2.5bn despite Covid impact

UAE telecoms giant Etisalat posts rise in net profit to $2.5bn despite Covid impact

UAE telco giant Etisalat announced on Tuesday that it made an annual net profit after Federal Royalty of AED9 billion ($2.45 billion) in 2020, an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the previous year, on revenues of AED51.7 billion.

In the UAE, the subscriber base reached to 12.2 million subscribers, while Etisalat Group aggregate subscribers reached 154 million subscribers, a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent.

The company said in a statement that its board of directors has proposed dividend payout of 40 fils per share for the second half of 2020, representing a total dividend payout of 80 fils for the full year.

Boards of both companies will discuss plan to seek to attract more overseas investment this week

The board also proposed a cancellation of the share buyback programme and instead proposed a one-time special dividend of AED0.40 per share. As a result, the total ‎dividend per share for the full year 2020 is AED1.20.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Etisalat Group, said: "As we begin our journey into a new digitally empowered future, 2020 was a true testimony to Etisalat Group's resilience and agility.

"Despite the unprecedented global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Etisalat demonstrated robust financial performance, driven by our bold vision