Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) has posted a revenue of AED11.08 billion ($3 billion) and a net income of AED1.44 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020 despite the tough operating environment caused by the pandemic.
EITC’s Capital Expenditure increased by 24.1% year-over-year to AED1.87 billion, representing a capital intensity of 16.9%, its highest level over the last five years, as the company’s strong balance sheet enabled it to maintain its ambitious capital deployment plans for 2020.
The Board of Directors has approved of a dividend distribution of 28 fils per share for 2020, out of which 13 fils per share were paid in August 2020 as an interim dividend.
Revenues during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 increased by 1.9%, compared to Q3 2020, to AED2.74 billion, representing two sequential quarters of growth in 2020 as economic activity continues to recover.
Q4 2020 mobile revenues were almost stable at AED1.32 billion, compared to AED1.33 billion in Q3 2020, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and changes in population and mobility patterns. In Q4 2020, EITC reported 1.0% increase (when compared to Q3 2020) in its mobile subscriber base, to 6.66 million subscribers and a 3.4% year-over-year improvement in ARPU reflecting a better post-paid and prepaid subscriber mix.
Mohamed Al Hussaini, Chairman of EITC said: “2020 has been a challenging year with the unprecedented pandemic impacting all businesses locally and globally. Our business model proved solid and resilient compared to many other industries.”
“EITC has been able to navigate in a turbulent environment and ensure the efficient provision of telecommunication services, vital to the economy and the community especially in these difficult times. EITC maintained a high level of profitability of the business and continued the deployment of its transformation plans and its infrastructure roll-out and modernization.
“2020 proved how important the telecommunication sector is for our economy and society as its infrastructure constitutes the backbone of the digital ecosystem. We remain committed to further developing and modernizing our infrastructure by investing in future technologies.
“In 2020 we increased our capital expenditure by 24.1% to reach AED1.87 billion, representing the company’s highest level of capital intensity over the last five years, which was primarily used to enhance our network and continue our 5G roll out.
“Post period, the Board resolved to open up to 49% of the company’s share capital for investment from non-UAE investors. This is an important development in our corporate journey, and we are delighted to offer all qualified investors the opportunity to invest in our Company, and be a part of our success and journey going forward,” he added.
Fahad Al Hassawi, Acting CEO of EITC said: “Our business saw a positive momentum towards a gradual return to normality in the second half of 2020, as economic activity and trade and tourism resumed. We reported two consecutive quarters of positive revenue growth in the third and fourth quarter of 2020, respectively, and reported a healthy net income of AED1.44 billion for the full year 2020.”
“Our fixed revenues grew by 3.0% year-over-year to AED2.57 billion in 2020, supported by a 7.4% increase in our fixed subscriber base during the same time period, demonstrating our competitive strength and ability to gain market share during this challenging period.
“We continued our focus on implementing our new business model and various transformation initiatives to improve our efficiency and our ability to adapt to an evolving and dynamic environment.
“EITC has demonstrated tremendous resilience during this unprecedented year as we successfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic, while keeping our employees safe, and our customers connected. The global pandemic has highlighted the critical role that telecommunications operators play in keeping the economy moving and people connected, and we are honoured to contribute to the success of the UAE with our reliable world class network infrastructure,” he added.