The net profit of the Emirates Telecommunications Group during the first half of this year increased by 2.5% year on year, to record 4.86 billion dirhams, compared to 4.75 billion dirhams, profits for the same period in 2021.
The company’s financial statements revealed that the group’s revenues decreased during the first half of 2022 by 0.4% on an annual basis, to reach about 26.3 billion dirhams, and the revenues of the second quarter decreased by 1.6% on an annual basis.
The group said, in a separate statement on Monday, that the second quarter revenue was negatively affected by unfavorable foreign exchange rates, a large part of which was offset by the strong performance (which appears in the business results) in the local currencies of Etisalat UAE, Etisalat Egypt and Pakistan.
In terms of the second quarter, the net profit of the group increased by 1.5% compared to the second quarter of 2021, to reach 2.4 billion dirhams.
The group said that its indebtedness rose by 14 billion dirhams during the first half of this year, to reach 39.7 billion dirhams, mainly due to bank loans to finance investment in Vodafone Group.
Last May, the group acquired a 9.8% stake in Vodafone, the British telecommunications company, at a cost of approximately $4.4 billion, which made Etisalat Group the largest shareholder in Vodafone.
