UAE telecoms and technology company e&, formerly Etisalat Group, has reported an increase of about 3 per cent in its 2023 net profit on the back of robust economic growth in the markets it serves.
Net profit attributable to shareholders of the company in the 12 months ended December rose to more than Dh10.3 billion ($2.8 billion), from Dh10 billion in 2022, the company said in preliminary results filed with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Revenue climbed by about 2.5 per cent annually to Dh53.8 billion while total assets were up by about 1 per cent to Dh146.83 billion. Earnings per share stood at Dh1.18, from Dh1.15 in the previous year.
The Abu Dhabi-based company did not include fourth-quarter figures in its preliminary results.
E& mainly attributed its 2023 results to “outstanding commercial performance and robust overall economic growth in [the] UAE and international markets, alongside heightened demand for digital services”.
However, it said revenue was affected by foreign exchange rate volatility in the international markets it serves.
“At constant exchange rates, e& reported strong financial and operational performance,” it said, noting its revenue increase reflected growth in all of its key markets.
With the telecoms industry disrupted heavily by technology, operators are rapidly transforming their operations to add new revenue lines as competition intensifies.
E& is open to acquisitions or partnerships that will allow it to diversify its portfolio, expand locally and overseas, and increase its consumer base, the company's executives previously told The National.
The company is also projected to lead revenue growth in the GCC telecoms sector this year as companies shore up their assets in new international markets, according to Moody's Investors Service.
By acquiring assets in new regions and offering products and services there, telecoms companies are expected to boost their 2023-2024 revenue by an average of 3 per cent, the New York-based rating agency's study showed.
In December, e& wholly acquired the Pakistani unit of Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor in a push to cater to the South Asian country's growing market.
The UAE company continues to acquire and invest in start-ups in an attempt to boost its digital services amid heightened demand from consumers in a digital economy.
Earlier in December, e& completed the acquisition of a 50.03 per cent stake in Careem Technologies, commonly known as Careem Everything App, for $400 million, allowing it to tap into several digital services and expand its reach across different geographies.
In August, the conglomerate's investment arm, e& capital, led a $5 million series A funding round for Maxbyte, an Abu Dhabi-based technology company providing Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions in the automotive, defence, utilities and food and beverage sectors.
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Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
