UAE’s du posts flat net profit in Q2

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (du) reported a net profit of AED 446.6 million after royalties for Q2 2017, edging up 0.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) due to tough market conditions.

Profit attributable to shareholders came in at AED 443.2 million, du said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

“Despite a steady performance during the quarter and the first half of the year, [du] continues to be impacted by challenging market conditions, with pressure on mobile rates and data monetization. Consequently, EBITDA and net profit stand at the same level as Q2 2016,” du CEO Osman Sultan said in the statement.

Revenue for the second quarter stood at AED 3.26 billion, up 6.2 percent YoY driven by growth in handset sales, higher wholesale and fixed revenues, and an increase in mobile customer base.

The telecom operator plans to distribute AED 589.3 million of interim dividends to its shareholders for the first half of 2017 at AED 0.13 per share, subject to approval at its general assembly meeting in September.