5G and broadband demand boosts Du’s 2022 net profit by 11%

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., also known as Du, reported on Wednesday that its net income for the first quarter of 2023 increased by 19% to 370 million dirhams ($100.7 million). Du improved its mobile and 5G broadband subscriber base which resulted in this increased income in the first quarter.

The telecom operator also disclosed in a regulatory filing to the Dubai Financial Market that its revenue increased 10% year-over-year to AED3.44 billion.

The company attributed the increase in net income to higher EBITDA and an increase in finance income due to higher interest rates and improved cash management. These factors were partially mitigated by the increase in royalties paid out.

The number of mobile subscribers for Du increased by 9.4% to 8.2 million, while broadband subscriptions increased by over 26% year-over-year.

Mobile service revenues increased by more than 6% to 1.49 billion AED, while fixed service revenues increased by 15% to 936 million AED.

In 2022, du’s mobile customer base grew by 9% annually, concluding the year with approximately 7.9 million subscribers after adding 494,000 new customers in the final quarter alone.

With the addition of approximately 53,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter of 2022, Du’s postpaid subscriber base increased by nearly 11 percent to 1.5 million in 2022.

Its prepaid subscriber base increased to 6.4 million as 441,000 users joined the operator in the last three months of the year, a result of the UAE’s growing population and increased tourism.

Meanwhile, its fixed customer base grew by more than 37% annually to approximately 537,000 users in 2022, with approximately 146,000 additions.

As one of the fastest-growing telecommunication operators in the UAE, du has outstanding performance in 5G network experience and service development, capturing a large share of the Middle East market. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona earlier this year, du and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 5.5G strategic cooperation, marking a new phase of their long-standing partnership.

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