Etisalat saw its third quarter profit fall by 1 per cent as the UAE?telecommunications company faces increased competition in its home market and rising operating costs.
The telecommunications company reported Q3 profits of US$468mn which was slightly down compared to its profits last year which stood at US$470mn.
Etisalat has also seen revenue for the first nine months of this year decline of 1.34 per cent on the same period last year. Revenues stood at US$4.91 billion.
The fall in revenues?is due?to increased competition in the UAE market from rival du and increased operating costs that rose faster than revenues. In Q3, operating costs increased by 22.3 per cent over the same period of last year.
Despite being squeezed in the UAE, Etisalat?s global operations have grown. Revenue earned from international operations contributed 26 per cent to overall revenue and increased 18 per cent on the same period last year.
Commenting on the Group's Q3 results, Etisalat Chairman Mr Mohammad Omran said, "Our performance has improved due to our ongoing initiatives to add new revenue streams and optimise our costs."
