Etisalat 2009H1 profit Dh4.59bn -9.0%

[sharewadi]

Etisalat (ETISALAT) announced 2009 H1 net profit of AED 4.593 billion in a press release (see next post), which is slightly down from the AED 5.045 billion earnt in 2008 H1, a fall of about 9%. Figures for Q2 not supplied, I'll figure it out later from Q1 results.

If Etisalat earnings are similar for 2009 H2, that puts them on track for a full year profit of about AED 9.2 billion, slightly up on the AED 8.7 billion earnt in 2008, and at share price of AED 10.45 at closing on Thursday, implies an estimated EPS of about AED 1.28 for 2009FY, and a forward PE of about 8.2. Seems relatively good value under the circumstances. If one assumes that not everyone is going to desert the UAE, and population growth will resume, if not continue, we could expect Etisalat profits to resume decent growth. Share ownership is not allowed for foreigners at present though, although they've talked about it in the past.

And if Etisalat keep installing spyware into Blackberry phones, they'll be able to suck up all your contact information and send even more spam to generate more revenue. Shareholders might be hoping that Etisalat expands this scheme into phones of other brands. Perhaps also getting into address books stored on home computers - imagine how many email addresses and telephone numbers they can fill their databases with then ...

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[sharewadi]

Press Release 18 July 2009:

Etisalat Announces Financial Results For the Second Quarter of 2009 Etisalat reported Dh. 4.593 Billion net profit during the first half of 2009 which is 11% higher than last year. Abu Dhabi: Etisalat (ETISALAT) today announced its Group consolidated financial results for the first half of 2009 revealing a net profit of AED 4.593 billion. The net profit for the same period in 2008 was AED 5.045 billion which included profit on sale of shares in Mobily of AED 892 million after federal royalty. Excluding this exceptional item, the net profit after federal royalty for the six months ended June 2009 is AED 440 million (11%) higher than the same period in 2008. Etisalat recorded net revenues of AED 14.744 billion for the first half of 2009. This shows an increase of 10% compared to the first half of 2008 (AED 13.408 billion). Total assets recorded were AED 67.245 billion, an increase of 7% (AED 62.918 billion) compared to last year's total. Earnings per share for the first half of 2009 is AED 0.64 against AED 0.70 (AED 0.58 excluding exceptional item) for the same period in 2008. Mohammad Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: "The financial results for the first half of 2009, reflect that Etisalat was not directly affected by the global financial crisis. The growth in revenues achieved will help us expand and develop our national and international business units." "We have reduced our operational expenditure in the period and have become even more selective in choosing our international investments. We are achieving this by making use of the current financial environment and searching for positive opportunities that arise during these times," he added. "Etisalat today is one of the largest telecommunications companies world wide. It provides services to more than 85 million subscribers from geographical base of 1.7 billion people. The number of Etisalat subscribers is expected to reach to 100 million during 2010." "Etisalat is a strategic partner in developing the telecommunication sector in international markets. The company has gone beyond offering traditional communication services, and is delivering state-of-the-art value added services across next generation wireless and wire lines services in Asia and Africa," Omran concluded. Mohammed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat, said: "Mobile penetration in the UAE has exceeded 200%. This makes the UAE the number one country in the world for mobile subscriptions." "This high penetration rate reduces the opportunities for growth in number of subscribers, and gives a chance for cumulative growth in terms of rates, minutes of use and data traffic through mobile phones and 3G services that Etisalat provides," Al Qamzi added. "Etisalat is committed to continue in this endeavor through the completion of its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network which will to support the economic and overall development in the UAE," he concluded. The number of mobile users in the UAE has reached 7.26 million, and fixed line subscribers reached 1.33 million. The Internet subscriber base reached 1.23 million in the first half of 2009.

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