Abu Dhabi-based telecommunications group Etisalat said on Tuesday that its consolidated net profit for the first nine months of 2026 rose 45.9% from a year earlier to AED17.2 billion, boosted by the sale of its entire stake in Vodafone Group.
Third-quarter net profit reached AED11.2 billion, compared with AED3.0 billion in the same quarter of 2025, the company said in a statement. Excluding the Vodafone gain, net profit was AED3.2 billion for the quarter and AED9.2 billion for the nine months.
The Vodafone sale, completed during the quarter, generated total consideration of AED21.9 billion, including the final dividend, and a gain of about AED8.0 billion, the company said.
Consolidated revenue rose 6.9% to AED19.5 billion in the third quarter and 10.0% to AED57.6 billion in the nine months. Earnings per share for the nine months were AED1.98, compared with AED1.36 a year earlier.
Third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 5.1% to AED9.0 billion, a margin of 46.1%. Nine-month EBITDA grew 10.3% to AED26.7 billion, with a margin of 46.4%.
The group’s total subscriber base reached 254.8 million at the end of the third quarter, up 29.4% from 197.0 million a year earlier. Subscribers in the UAE rose 5.2% to 16.5 million.
As it marks its 50th anniversary, the group said it has moved forward under the Etisalat name, with a strategy centered on becoming an AI-powered telecommunications operator.
The company also said it plans to expand its international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second by 2030, more than 25 times its current capacity.
