Financial Highlights
Financial Highlights for Q3 2026
- Aggregate subscriber base reached 254.8 million, increasing 29.4% year over year.
- Revenue increased by 6.9% year over year to AED 19.5 billion, driven by growth across home and international markets supported by strong operational indicators.
- EBITDA increased by 5.1% year over year to AED 9.0 billion reflecting a healthy margin of 46.1%, while telecom margin reached 47.4%.
- Net profit after federal royalty and corporate tax amounted to AED 11.2 billion. Excluding the one-off gain from the sale of Vodafone stake of AED 8.0 billion, net profit increased year over year by 7%.
- CAPEX excluding spectrum & licenses fees reached AED 2.8 billion, implying an intensity ratio of 14.5%, lower by 2.1% compared to Q3 2025.
- Operating free cashflow, excluding spectrum and licenses fees, amounted to AED 6.2 billion, an increase of 11.6% year over year while reporting a healthy margin of 31.7%.
- Consolidated cash balance amounted AED 51.6 billion, leading to a net debt position of AED 17.7 billion, and equivalent Net Debt /EBITDA of 0.50x.
Key Developments in Q3 2026
- etisalat group completed the sale of its entire stake in Vodafone for USD 5.95 Billion
etisalat group divested its entire holding of 3,944,743,685 ordinary shares in Vodafone to Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group, for a total consideration of 112.5 GBp per share, comprised of c. 110.5 GBp paid in cash by the buyer and final FY’26 dividend of 2.02 GBp per share, received on 30 July 2026. This brings total consideration to AED 21.9 billion (equivalent of USD 5.95 billion). The transaction generated a net gain of c. AED 8.0 billion. - Federal Royalty scheme for the period 2027 – 2029
The Federal Royalty regime and Corporate Tax Law applicable to the telecommunications sector has been extended for three years period starting 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029 as per The Ministry of Finance’s notification to etisalat group. - etisalat’s public telecommunications license renewed for a period of 20 years
Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority “TDRA” renewed etisalat’s Public Telecommunications License for a period of 20 years ending 8 August 2046. This represents a strategic milestone that reinforces etisalat’s long-term operating framework in the UAE and provides greater visibility to support continued investment, sustainable growth and long-term value creation. - etisalat group successfully completed the sale of 12.5% stake in Careem Technologies to Uber
etisalat group successfully divested 12.50% of its 50.03% stake in Careem Technologies to Uber Technologies for a total cash consideration of USD 100 million. This will enable Careem Technologies to benefit from Uber’s global technology experience and platform synergies to position itself for the next phase of growth while it reflects at the same time the strategic focus for etisalat on its core businesses and disciplined capital allocation priorities. - etisalat UAE and Core42 partner to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure
etisalat UAE and Core42, a G42 company specialising in sovereign cloud, AI infrastructure and digital services, announced a partnership to deliver Sovereign AI Compute, giving organisations in the UAE and international markets immediate and secure access to in-country AI infrastructure for faster deployment of AI applications and use cases. - etisalat UAE is embedding Agentic AI into its core business connectivity
etisalat UAE became the first telecom provider in the region to embed Agentic AI into its core mobile and fixed connectivity plans. This integration brings intelligent capabilities directly into the mobile and internet services used by organisations every day and is supported by a broader ecosystem of Sovereign AI Compute enabling companies to automate routine processes, manage workflows, respond to requests and access relevant information more efficiently.
KEY FIGURES
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