e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group, announced its financial results for H1 2022, showing AED 26.3 billion in revenue and AED 4.9 billion in net profit. Representing an increase of 2.5% over the same period last year, aggregate group subscribers reached 160 million.
Source: e&
e&’s consolidated net profit for H1 2022 recorded a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 2.5%, and at constant exchange rates, revenue increased by 3.8%. Consolidated EBITDA remained steady in reporting currency at AED 13.4 billion while increasing by 4.1% in constant currency. The board has also approved an interim dividend of 40 fils per share for the first half of the year.
Commenting on the H1 2022 results, HE Jassem Mohamed Obaid Bu Ataba Alzaabi, Chairman of e&, said, “e&’s performance during the first half of the year demonstrates our unwavering commitment, continued efforts and relentless focus on realizing our vision of driving the digital future to empower societies. Our success is underpinned by our drive to make a positive change in the societies we serve while adding value to our shareholders.”
Among e&’s key operational highlights and developments for H1 2022 include its major investment in Vodafone Group, representing 9.8% of Vodafone’s issued share capital, partnership with G42 to create the Middle East’s largest data center provider under Khazna Data Centers, collaboration with other Middle East operators to establish the region's first Open RAN centralized test lab, the launch of Cyber Eye as an initiative to strengthen the Abu Dhabi Government entities’ cybersecurity capabilities and the acquisition of elGrocer under the Smiles brand.
In the same context, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO of e&, said, “We have maximized our efforts in growing our core and digital services, by enriching consumers’ value propositions with digital services that cater to their new lifestyles and emerging demands beyond basic telecom services. Our telecoms business has been the growth engine behind our company and its transformation into a techco. This has helped solidify our leadership across our geographic footprint, as well as grow adjacencies organically and through acquisitions.”
Impressively, the number of Etisalat by e& (previously Etisalat UAE) subscribers reached 13.3 million in H1 2022, representing a YoY increase of 10%.
Among the significant launches of the telecom pillar of e& in the UAE at this period are the GoChat Messenger, an all-in-one free voice and video calling app, the UAE’s first-of-its-kind Easy Insurance that offers digital services for auto, health and travel insurance and the first global live multi-vendor voice over new radio (VoNR) ecosystem.
“We have embraced digitization, with a continuous innovation ethos to charter our course into a more holistic digital transformation for our communities and societies,” remarked Alzaabi. Relatively, Dowidar mentioned that the “e& digital transformation path has accelerated,” empowering customers across the digital marketplace realm, providing holistic digital solutions and elevating the streaming experience to new heights.
As a testimony, in response to the demand for high-quality content and seamless streaming, E-Vision, a part of e& life, and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (ADQ) signed a binding agreement to acquire approximately 57% of STARZPLAY ARABIA.
e& enterprise (formerly Etisalat Digital) also announced a partnership with NICE to drive the availability of the CXone platform in the UAE, providing Etisalat customers with a clear, seamless path to the cloud with CXone, while enabling frictionless digital self-service and agent-assisted customer experiences.
