Industry Updates

e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group) announced its financial results for H1 2022.

Financial Highlights for H1 2022

(*) At constant exchange rates, revenue increased by +3.8% percent and EBITDA increased by +4.1% percent year-over-year

Key operational highlights and developments for H1 2022

• e&:
  • Board approves interim dividend of 40 fils per share for H1 2022
  • Acquired approximately 2,766 million shares in Vodafone Group Plc (“Vodafone”), representing 9.8% of Vodafone’s issued share capital (excluding treasury shares)
  • Completed the acquisition of elGrocer, under the Smiles brand
  • Launched region’s first Telco NFT collection to strengthen blockchain legacy
  • Announced the readiness of SmartHub Datacentre as the future telecom hub in the region
  • Partnered with G42 to create the UAE and Middle East’s largest data centre provider, Khazna Data Centers, to support the creation of a digital ecosystem
  • Entered a new phase of collaboration and strategic partnership with Microsoft to drive innovation and digital transformation
  • Open Radio Access Network (RAN) MoU comprising of Middle East operators including e& opened the region’s first centralised test lab in collaboration with TIP and Intel
  • Partnered with Meta to drive innovation with enhanced Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) experiences and conversational commerce in its digital communication projects
  • e&, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) and Trend Micro partnered to launch Cyber Eye, an initiative to strengthen the Abu Dhabi Government entities’ cybersecurity capabilities
• Etisalat UAE, by e&:
  • Announced the refreshed brand identity in line with the Group’s new positioning earlier this year
  • Launched GoChat Messenger, an all-in-one free voice and video calling app
  • Launched the UAE’s first-of-its-kind Easy Insurance, an innovative insurance platform offering digital services for auto, health and travel insurance
  • Parnered with Amazon to offer eero and Echo devices for the very first time in the country and expanded collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to serve key industries and meet the growing demand for digitalisation across different industries
  • In collaboration with industry leading vendors, Etisalat UAE launched the first global live multi-vendors VoNR (Voice over New Radio) ecosystem
  • Recognised outstanding small and medium businesses (SMBs) and start-ups at the second edition of the SMB awards
  • Smiles partnered with Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative (MBRGI) to support the global “One Billion Meals” campaign during the holy month of Ramadan
• e& international:
  • Etisalat Egypt announced its brand identity as etisalat by e&, following the celebration of its 15th year anniversary of operations
  • Etisalat Egypt and Honeywell signed an MoU to offer new services and products in the field of IoT and smart cities
  • Announced discussions with Mobily regarding a potential offer to increase its shareholding in Mobily
  • PTCL successfully deployed AirPON, an innovative Fibre-to-the-Home solution, in its Fiber Access Network
• e& life, from e&:
  • eWallet rebranded as e& money, the new fintech company as well as the financial super app marketplace
  • E-Vision and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (ADQ), signed a binding agreement to acquire approximately 57 percent in STARZPLAY ARABIA
  • ejunior, owned by E-Vision, celebrated its successful 21-year journey in the UAE
• e& enterprise, from e&:
  • Partnered with DataRobot to launch an Enterprise AI as a Services (AIaas) for supporting governments’ digital transformation journey support
  • Partnered with NICE to bring the CXone cloud platform to the UAE
  • Collaborated with Oracle, to host business solutions for Transguard Group to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) by over 40 percent in five years

H1 Overview

e&'s consolidated revenues reached AED 26.3 billion, while consolidated net profit was AED 4.9 billion, a year-over-year increase of 2.5 percent. At constant exchange rates, revenue increased by 3.8 percent. Consolidated EBITDA remained steady in reporting currency at AED 13.4 billion, while increased by 4.1 percent in constant currency, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 51 percent.

The number of etisalat by e& subscribers in the UAE reached 13.3 million in H1 2022, representing an increase of 10 percent over the same period last year, while aggregate group subscribers reached 160 million, a 2.5 percent increase.

Outlook

Since e&’s evolution into a global technology and investment conglomerate earlier this year, the company has continued its journey with steady progress in creating innovative solutions using next-generation technologies and pursuing strong local, regional and international mutually beneficial partnerships that create value and benefit our customers, enterprises and communities.

Commenting on the H1 2022 results, H.E. Jassem Mohamed Obaid Bu Ataba Alzaabi, Chairman of e&, said: “e&’s performance during the first half of the year demonstrates our unwavering commitment, continued efforts and relentless focus on realising our vision of driving the digital future to empower societies. Our success is underpinned by our drive to make a positive change in the societies we serve while adding value to our shareholders.

Our financial performance reinforces e&’s success story and its strong standing, tackling the challenges and rising to every opportunity to execute our ambitious plans we embarked on earlier this year and set the momentum for the remainder of 2022. We have embraced digitisation, with a continuous innovation ethos to charter our course into a more holistic digital transformation for our communities and societies.

I would like to thank the UAE’s wise leadership for their inspiring vision and continuous support to the ICT sector. I am also grateful to our e& management team for constantly capitalising on our deep digital expertise to act as enablers of digital transformation for governments, corporates, and consumers, providing complete end-to-end solutions. We remain thankful to our loyal consumers and shareholders for joining us in our journey of transformation and collaborating with us to set new industry benchmarks and reach new heights.”

Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO of e&, said: "e&’s financial results for the first half of this year are an outcome of our earnest endeavours to drive growth and enhance efficiencies, with a strong commitment to key strategic priorities to enable a better digital future and drive innovation.

e& achieved good performance despite global economic challenges characterised by soaring inflation, hike in interest rates and foreign currency devaluation. We will remain resilient and see these times as opportunities to deepen our focus and invest in the long term. As we navigate through the new global economic landscape, we will focus on our goal to create and deploy innovative solutions to positively impact people’s lives.

We have maximised our efforts in growing our core and digital services, by enriching consumers’ value propositions with digital services that cater to their new lifestyles and emerging demands beyond basic telecom services. Our telecoms business has been the growth engine behind our company and its transformation into a techco. This has helped solidify our leadership across our geographic footprint, as well as grow adjacencies organically and through acquisitions.

The e& digital transformation path has accelerated, empowering our customers across the digital marketplace realm, growing in fintech, providing holistic digital solutions and elevating the streaming experience to new heights. Our investment in Vodafone, for example, has great potential to drive value for both companies as we explore potential collaboration opportunities in the rapidly developing global telecom market and support the adoption of next-generation technologies. We are confident that the efforts during the first half of 2022 will help us be even better positioned to bring the full potential of the digital world to our customers across all segments by strategically building blocks that enable a future-ready business model.

We remain thankful to the UAE leadership, outstanding employees, customers and shareholders for their continued support. Our strength and determination rely on a collaborative ecosystem that moved us towards the decision of exploring new paths and reaching new horizons.”

Etisalat Group has changed its brand identity to e&, effective from 23 February 2022. Its strategy aims to accelerate growth through the creation of a resilient business model representing the Group’s main business pillars. The telecoms business currently continues to be led by etisalat by e& in e&’s home market and by existing subsidiaries for e& international, upholding the Group’s rich telecoms heritage, bolstering the strong telecoms network and maximising value for the Group’s various customer segments. Ramping up the digital services for individual customers to elevate their digital-first lifestyle, e& life brings next-generation technologies through smart connectivity platforms in entertainment, retail and financial technology. To enable the digital transformation of governments, large-scale enterprises and corporates, e& enterprise focuses on maximising value through its end-to-end solutions in cybersecurity, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as deploying mega projects. e& capital allows the Group to focus its efforts on driving new mergers and acquisitions while maximising shareholder value and strengthening global presence.

Source: Press Release