Du reports record profit of Dh163m

Telecommunications firm steadily eats into competitor Etisalat's market share to post a record third quarter profit, with further gains expected.

DUBAI // Competitive offerings in the mobile market helped du to post record profits in its third quarter earnings released today.

The operator has steadily eaten into Etisalat's mobile business since it launched in 2007. In the third quarter du added 159,800 new mobile subscribers, bringing its total customer base to over 4 million users, equivalent to a 37 per cent share of the market.

By comparison, Etisalat added about 10,000 mobile subscribers in the third quarter to reach a customer base of 7.81 million.

"We have passed a significant milestone, with our active mobile subscriber base growing beyond 4 million," said Osman Sultan, the chief executive of du.

Net profit after royalty charges were Dh163m in the quarter ending on September 30, compared to Dh78.5m a year earlier. The profit result was slightly better than analysts' expectations, which were estimated in a poll conducted by Bloomberg at Dh148m.

The company stands to gain more ground against Etisalat in the next year as it will gain access to the incumbent's nationwide broadband network. According to a recent report by JP Morgan, du's broadband margin is as high as 30 per cent.

Du is also positioning itself to take a leadership role in shaping what the company has described as a "digital voice for the Middle East" with a portal named Anayou.

Launched last month, the Anayou portal offers digital content tailored for the Arab world, including music, videos, gaming and news as well as a social network similar to Facebook.