Etisalat Q1 Profit: First Time Revenue From PTCL Included

Etisalat, the Gulf’s biggest telecoms operator, reported a near-flat first-quarter profit, missing analysts’ estimates as margins weakened.Etisalat which operates in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit of Dhs1.83 billion in the three months to March 31, compared with a profit of Dhs1.81 billion a year earlier.

First-quarter revenue was Dhs9.6 billion, with revenue from affiliate Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL) included for the first time. This compares with Dhs8.2 billion a year ago when PTCL was excluded.

PTCL boosted Etisalat’s subscriber numbers, which rose to 141 million as of March 31 from 122 million a year earlier. Etisalat said the number of subscribers in Asia was 36.6 million at end-March, up by 29 million due to the consolidation of Pakistan.

Etisalat, which also has operations in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Asia, did not state how many of the subscribers were from Pakistan.In the fourth-quarter of 2012, Etisalat wrote off $769 million from its Pakistan and Sudan units, while a year earlier it took $827 million in impairments relating to its failed Indian joint venture.

It’s worth mentioning here that in First Quarter, PTCL posted Rs 3.33 billion profit.