Etisalat profits rise 18%

Etisalat remained both profitable and growing in the last quarter of last year, largely weathering the global economic storm that reached the region in the same period. But in a rare occurrence, the company yesterday reported full-year results that fell far below the expectations of analysts. The national telecommunications company announced a full-year profit of Dh8.67 billion (US$2.36bn) yesterday, up 18 per cent on the previous year but well under the Dh9.46bn consensus estimate of telecoms analysts. In 2007, Etisalat grew its yearly profit by 33 per cent. Analysts attributed the lower-than-expected yearly result to an unspecified downward adjustment made in the fourth quarter. "There has been an adjustment made in the final quarter, according to the Etisalat press release, and it seems to be a significant adjustment of almost Dh700 million," said Marise Ananian, a research associate at the investment bank EFG-Hermes. Announcing the results, Etisalat reported a fourth-quarter unadjusted profit of Dh2.1bn, but the company's full-year profit was only Dh1.37bn higher than its nine-month profit announced in October. "We suspect there was an adjustment made related to employee end-of-service agreements and possibly some write-downs of investments," Ms Ananian said. "We will have to wait until more detailed information is released to know exactly the nature of the adjustment." Etisalat declined to comment on the results. Full end-of-year financial statements from the company, the largest publicly traded business in the nation, are expected in the coming fortnight. Mohammed Omran, the Etisalat chairman, said the results "reflect the company's ability to manage and sustain our growth". Despite a home mobile market approaching 200 per cent penetration, the company added 250,000 mobile subscribers in the last quarter of the year. Its local competitor, du, will release fourth-quarter and yearly results in the coming weeks. In the previous two quarters it has added more new customers than Etisalat. The company added 70,000 new internet subscribers in the final quarter, while fixed-line telephone customers remained flat during the period, growing by just 3 per cent, or less than 50,000 new lines, for the year. Last year, Etisalat launched a network in Nigeria, acquired a minority stake in a new Indian national network and won a licence to become the third mobile operator in Iran. The company's results were released after the close of share market trading yesterday. The company's stock closed the day down 0.5 per cent, and has dropped by 2 per cent this year and almost 50 per cent in the past 12 months. tgara@thenational.ae