e& (formerly known as Etisalat) has lowered its Capex intensity ratio to 14.5-15.5 percent for 2022 as against the previous guidance of 16.5-17.5 percent.
e& said its Capex in Q3 2022 fell 41 percent to AED 1.6 billion with an intensity ratio of 12 percent; excluding spectrum and licenses acquisition costs, Capex declined 2 percent.
Capital spending was driven by its significant investment for superior quality network. This includes the deployment of 5G network in the UAE, expansion of fibre network within the countries of Maroc Telecom Group and Pakistan as well as the expansion of mobile networks coverage in Egypt, Pakistan and Moov Africa’s markets.
In the UAE, capital expenditure rose 6 percent to AED 0.6 billion. Capital intensity ratio was 7 percent, remaining stable versus the same quarter of the prior year and 2 percentage point higher than the second quarter of 2022. Capital spending focused on network modernization and capacity enhancement in addition to 5G rollout.
Capital expenditures in e& international decreased 52 percent to AED 1 billion compared to the same period last year and fell 26 percent compared to the previous quarter. International operations represented 65 percent of the Group’s total capital expenditure.
In Maroc Telecom, capital expenditure for the third quarter decreased in AED by 3 percent year over year and by 35 percent quarter over quarter to AED 0.6 billion, resulting in a capital intensity ratio of 20 percent.
Capex spend in Morocco increased 8 percent year over year and was focused on the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network, enhancing capacity and 4G coverage expansion.
In Moov Africa’s operations, Capex increased year over year 15 percent focusing on networks expansion and upgrades to support the growth in traffic and customer base and FTTH networks rollout to new countries.
In Egypt, capital expenditure for the third quarter decreased by 31 percent year over year to AED 0.2 billion resulting in a capital intensity ratio of 17 percent, 7 percentage points lower than the same period of the prior year. Capital spending focused on 4G deployment post spectrum acquisition and upgrading of network capacity.
In Pakistan, capital expenditure decreased by 86 percent year over year to AED 0.2 billion resulting in a capital intensity ratio of 27 percent, 131 percentage points lower than the prior year due to spectrum acquisition in Q3 2021. Capital spending focused on expansion of the mobile network’s coverage, FTTH deployment and enhancement of the fixed network’s capacity.
e& has reported revenues of AED 13 billion and net profit of AED 2.5 billion in Q3 2022.
e& has posted operating expenses of AED 8 billion, a decrease of 4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year and a decrease of 1 percent from the second quarter of 2022. The decrease highlights the Group’s continuous efforts to control and optimize costs to offset inflationary pressure exemplifying sound cost discipline. As a result, we experienced lower marketing, staff, depreciation and consultancy costs, among others.
Aggregate subscribers as at 30 September 2022 stood at 162 million, recording the highest number of subscribers in the Group’s history. This translated to a net addition of 6.2 million during the last 12-month period, mainly due to strong subscriber acquisition in Egypt, UAE, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Chad, Benin and Pakistan. Quarter over quarter subscriber base increased by 1.6 million.
The number of etisalat by e& subscribers in the UAE reached 13.3 million in Q3 2022, representing an increase of 11 percent over the same period last year, while aggregate group subscribers reached 162 million, a 4 percent increase.
“We are focusing our efforts on adopting flexible and agile business models that fuel growth through innovation and creating new value propositions,” Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO of e&, said.
