UAE's leading telecom company e& has announced robust financial results for the third quarter with a consolidated revenue of AED14.4 billion ($3.8 billion), growing 10% year-over-year in constant currency, while its net profit stood at AED3 billion ($817 million), thus demonstrating strong performance across all business verticals. 

 

Announcing the results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2024, e& said it continues to grow its digital services across enterprise solutions, fintech, and media and entertainment sectors. This diversification will allow it to pursue its strategic ambition of transitioning to a global technology player.

 

The group's total subscriber base witnessed a YoY increase of 6 per cent, reaching 177.3 million. The total number of e& UAE subscribers reached 14.7 million, representing a YoY growth of 5 per cent.

 

During the Q3, e& successfully completed its landmark partnership with PPF Group, acquiring a controlling stake (50 per cent plus one economic share) in the service and infrastructure companies of PPF Telecom Group (“PPF Telecom”) across Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. 

 

This acquisition marks a significant step in e&'s ongoing global expansion ambitions, diversifying and growing its geographical presence to 38 countries. 

 

This milestone is poised to transform the telecom landscape in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region and deliver enhanced value to over 10 million customers across the four markets.

 

The UAE telco also signed a $1 billion-plus agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) over the next six years to accelerate the impact of cloud-driven innovation and digital transformation across the Middle East region. 

 

The alliance will focus on delivering core cloud services like storage, computing, networking, cybersecurity, and AI and machine learning (ML). Part of this investment will be dedicated to training and certifying up to 60,000 individuals - including 6,000 UAE nationals - in cloud technologies and AI.

 

e& completed an important milestone by closing the transaction of PPF Telecom that will enhance the group portfolio diversification while it continues to grow its digital services across enterprise solutions, fintech, and media and entertainment sectors. 

 

This diversification will allow it to pursue its strategic ambition of transitioning to a global technology player.

 

On the solid performance, Group CEO Hatem Dowidar said: "e& continued its strong momentum in the first nine months, with consolidated revenue growing 9 per cent in constant currency to AED42.7 billion. We scaled up e&’s telecom footprint to 20 countries, bringing our overall reach to 38 markets."

"This growth, coupled with our solid performance in both local and international markets, drove our consolidated net profit to reach AED8.5 billion growing 10 per cent during the first nine months. Furthermore, consolidated ebitda reached AED19.4 billion, resulting in ebitda margin of 45%, while our telecom ebitda margin remained resilient at 49%.

 

"Now that we have completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in PPF Telecom Group, we look forward to the opportunities that will arise as we expand our global horizon, impacting the lives of over 1 billion people across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and now Central and Eastern Europe - marking our first operational foothold in Europe. By combining our expertise with PPF Telecom's strong local presence, we're well-positioned to drive digital transformation and empower societies across this region," stated Dowidar.

 

"e& remains dedicated to championing the UAE’s leadership vision as the country continues to advance its digital agenda as a role model of digitalisation. Our investment in cutting-edge infrastructure and strategic partnerships will ensure that we continue to deliver futuristic solutions and digital services that drive sustainable progress and transformation," he added.-TradeArabia News Service