Du Q4 net profit jumps 15pc to $135m

Dubai, March 6, 2012

UAE telecoms operator du on Tuesday reported a 15.4 per cent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit before royalty payments, beating analysts estimates, as the telco added more subscribers during the quarter.

Du made a net profit before royalty of Dh497.4 million ($135.42 million), compared with a profit of Dh430.9 million in the same period a year ago, it said in a statement. It did not provide a net profit figure after royalty payments for the quarter.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the firm to post a quarterly net profit of Dh270.7 million.

Du has proposed a dividend payment of 15 fils a share, its first payout to shareholders, the company said.

The UAE firm was instructed to pay a royalty of 15 per cent on its 2011 net profit, plus a further 5 per cent of revenue to the government on its 2011 profit, the firm said in February.

Du said the move resulted in a royalty payment of Dh715 million for the year, compared with Dh184 million for the year earlier period.

Rival Etisalat, which operates in 17 countries, usually pays 50 percent of its net profit in royalties, including money earned abroad.

Du said it added 278,100 net active mobile customers in the fourth-quarter, bringing total mobile customer base to 5.2 million.

The company, which ended Etisalat's domestic monopoly in 2007, said revenue was Dh2.4 billion in the quarter, up 17.9 percent from 2.05 billion dirhams a year earlier.

Du shares closed at Dh3.18 on the Dubai bourse Monday.-Reuters

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