Du Reports Strong Financial Performance With 19.8% Net Profit Increase In First Quarter Of 2025

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, showcasing significant growth in both revenue and profit. The company reported a 7.4% year-over-year increase in total revenues, driven by strong performance across service and non-service segments. EBITDA rose by 15.0%, supported by an improved revenue mix and efficient cost management, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 47.4%.

Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, stated: "We started the year with a very strong first quarter, delivering growth across all key financial metrics and making meaningful progress on our strategy to diversify revenue streams as witnessed by the strategic partnership with Microsoft to develop a hyperscale data centre." He emphasised that the UAE's resilient environment and quality offerings contributed to subscriber base growth, with mobile subscribers exceeding 9 million.

The company's Q1 revenues reached AED3.8 billion, marking a 7.4% increase from the previous year. This growth was attributed to a favourable macro environment in the UAE, market share gains, and a focus on high ARPU products. Mobile service revenues grew by 7.4% to AED1.7 billion due to customer base expansion and improved product offerings.

Fixed service revenues saw a 10.2% rise year-over-year, reaching AED1.1 billion. This increase was driven by higher fibre penetration and successful Home Wireless products and Enterprise connectivity solutions. Additionally, "Other revenues" increased by 4.8% to AED1.1 billion, supported by ICT business expansion and higher inbound roaming revenues.

The company's net profit for Q1 grew by 19.8% year-over-year to AED722 million, reflecting a net profit margin of 18.8%. This was attributed to strong EBITDA performance and positive interest results. The balance sheet remains robust due to strong cash generation and capital expenditure normalisation in connectivity business areas.

Operating free cash flow increased by 17.9% to AED1.4 billion, primarily driven by EBITDA growth. Capex for Q1 stood at AED377 million with a capex intensity of 9.8%. Core investments focused on enhancing 5G densification, indoor coverage improvement, fibre deployment expansion, and ICT activity development.

Strategic Expansion Plans

The company plans further capital allocation towards infrastructure improvement and IT system transformation to enhance network quality and customer experience further. Fahad Al Hassawi added: "We also achieved a strong margin expansion, with EBITDA margin rising to 47.4% while net profit grew by 19.8%, reflecting disciplined execution of our strategy and effective cost management."

Du's strategic partnership with Microsoft aims at developing a hyperscale data centre as part of its strategy to diversify revenue streams beyond core business areas.

The company reiterated its guidance for maintaining strong momentum throughout the year due to disciplined execution of strategies and effective cost management practices.

With inputs from WAM