Industry Updates

e& has announced its Q3 2024 consolidated financial results, reporting consolidated revenue of AED 14.4 billion, growing 10 per cent year-over-year in constant currency, while consolidated revenues for the first nine months of year 2024 recorded AED 42.7 billion, growing 9 per cent YoY, reflecting continued growth across most verticals.

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.

e&’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.

Financial Highlights

Hatem Dowidar, Group Chief Executive Officer, e&, said: “e& continued its strong momentum in the first nine months, with consolidated revenue growing 9 per cent in constant currency to AED 42.7 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 AED 8.5 billion growing 10 per cent during the first nine months. Furthermore, consolidated EBITDA reached AED 19.4 billion, resulting in EBITDA margin of 45 per cent, 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,” added Dowidar.

He concluded, “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.”

Key Operational Highlights

e&

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.

e& signed a US$ 1 billion-plus (AED 3.7 billion) 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& and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have partnered to promote digital inclusion and sustainable development in the Arab States region. The collaboration will focus on bridging digital divides, supporting MSMEs, using AI for climate resilience, and fostering public-private partnerships for digital cooperation.

e& has become one of the first telecom operators to the GSMA’s Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap. The roadmap enables telcos to assess where they currently stand in terms of their existing maturity in using AI responsibly against where they want to go. It then provides clear guidance and measurement tools to help fulfil those ambitions while ensuring industry-wide best practice in the responsible use of the technology.

A new year-long partnership between e& and Nokia’s research arm, Nokia Bell Labs, will see both parties collaborating on research and development to create AI-based use cases for strategic industrial sectors. The goal is to develop responsible AI solutions for sustainable enterprise and industrial automation applications and accelerate innovation concepts toward real world deployments.

e& UAE

The opening of the second AI-powered autonomous store, EASE (e& Autonomous Store Experience), at Dubai Mall set new standards in customer experience. The store powered by state-of-the-art AI technology, offers a unique and seamless shopping experience with more advanced features, such as FastPass and visitor line activation via biometrics or the e& UAE app.

e& UAE launched the Fibre-To-The-Room (FTTR) service, which enhances the performance of Wi-Fi networks. This innovative service is ideal for smart homes, gamers, and other tech-dependent users who require high-speed internet connections with minimal latency to ensure optimal performance.

The introduction of the self-activated instant eSIM with 10GB of complimentary data for visitors gave them a Free Visitor Line eSIM immediately upon passing through immigration by scanning a QR code and completing a quick facial recognition step, thereby eliminating queues and streamlining the process.

e& UAE achieved Platinum status in TM Forum’s Open API certification, making it the first telecommunications operator in the MENA region to receive this level of accreditation for 20 unique APIs.

Building on Smiles' position as the UAE's leading everyday rewards SuperApp, a new subscription model was introduced. Called "Smiles Unlimited," it is the only super subscription that unifies all the benefits of unlimited free food and grocery delivery, service fee waiver for home services, and unlimited Buy-One-Get-One on thousands of brands into one subscription package.

e& UAE unveiled 'Care Plus,' a support service designed specifically for business customers, a pioneering offering that empowers businesses to tailor their support levels precisely to their unique requirements and critical priorities.

e& enterprise

e& enterprise successfully completed its 100 per cent acquisition of GlassHouse, a leading Türkiye-based provider of managed cloud, business continuity and SAP Infrastructure services. The acquisition strengthens e& enterprise’s capabilities in private cloud and managed services, bolstering its overall value proposition with the addition of SAP capabilities and vertical expertise within the banking and financial services sector. It also marks a significant milestone in e& enterprise’s international growth strategy, following successful market entries into Saudi Arabia in 2019, Egypt in 2023, and now Türkiye, Qatar and South Africa.

e& enterprise launched its Utility Co-Pilot, an innovative utility virtual assistant, available in the Microsoft Marketplace. This cutting-edge solution leverages Generative AI (GenAI) and advanced data management techniques to revolutionise utility management, offering unprecedented efficiency, transparency, and customer satisfaction.

e& enterprise’s “end to end (E2E)” digital transformation team successfully completed Emirates Transport's consulting engagement, helping define their digital transformation roadmap and positioning it as a preferred tech partner for its implementation. This involved providing consulting services to define technical requirements through its “3+1” transition model, bridging the gap between digital strategy and execution.

Help AG, the cybersecurity arm of e& enterprise, has achieved significant recognition by winning the ‘Best Managed Security Provider Award’ at the Future Security Awards 2024, solidifying its position as a leader in the cybersecurity space. Additionally, Help AG has received Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) authorisation for Zscaler, further enhancing its ability to deliver cutting-edge security solutions to clients and ensuring they remain protected in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Beehive has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing AED 3 billion in total SME funding across the GCC. This achievement highlights the company's success in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. Additionally, Beehive's partnership with ADCB as its first key account banking partner further solidifies its position as a trusted partner in the financial services industry.

e& life

e& life delivered robust growth, driving the group’s expansion across all consumer digital verticals. e& money achieved substantial progress, tripling its Total Gross Transaction Volume (GTV) and increasing remittance GTV by 2.4x year-over-year. The platform has issued 703,000 cards to date and attracted 1.29 million registered users, further strengthening its position in the digital financial services market and aligning with e&'s strategic vision for fintech.

Careem demonstrated exceptional growth in Q3 2024, with GTV surging 177 per cent year-over-year and GTV per user rising by 122 per cent, underscoring a strong and engaged user base. Additionally, Careem Plus, its monthly subscription programme’s monthly active users now surpassed 50 per cent of the total active user base, reflecting all-time high user engagement and platform traction.

STARZ ON has quickly gained momentum in the GCC streaming market. Since its launch in January 2024, it has amassed over 4.1 million installs, becoming the most downloaded SVOD/AVOD app in the region. With over 1,000 hours of new content and an increase of 103,000 monthly active users compared to Q2 2024, STARZ ON has solidified its position as a leading OTT platform with 1.44 million active users. Through its partnership with evision, the group acquired premium new content, including The History Channel, History 2, and Crime+Investigation, and broadcasted the Cricket World Cup (ICC) exclusively across in MENA.

e& international

In Pakistan, Upaisa, the digital financial services platform of Ubank and Ufone, launched a new debit card in conjunction with Mastercard. The innovative offering is a step forward in advancing Pakistan’s digital economy, offering consumers a secure, convenient, and seamless way to conduct digital transactions both locally and globally.

PTCL announced the launch of Pakistan’s first-ever AI-enabled Customer Services platform, developed in collaboration with STech.ai, which sets a new benchmark in digital innovation and customer experience excellence. In addition, PTCL Flash Fibre (FTTH) crossed the milestone of 600,000 subscribers in September.

Transforming Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, e& Egypt has signed a landmark agreement with Modon Holding to spearhead the development of cutting-edge smart city infrastructure for the Ras El Hekma project. e& Egypt has also been awarded the “Best Workplace Environment in Diversity and Inclusion” by Global Business Outlook.

e& capital

e& capital and AT&T Ventures announced a strategic investment in Derq, the leading provider of real-time AI-powered intelligent transportation system (ITS) solutions. The investments will be used to expand Derq’s activities in the US, GCC, and beyond, and accelerate the company’s investments in product development and growing its intellectual property (IP) portfolio.

Source: Press Release