Etisalat clears full-year 2017 dividends of 80 fils per share

22/03/2018 06:01 AST

At Etisalat's annual general meeting, held at the company's headquarters in Abu Dhabi, shareholders have backed the board's recommendation to pay full-year 2017 dividends of 80 fils per share. The AGM also approved the board proposed Buy-back program of 5 per cent of the company's paid capital, representing 434.8 million shares, for the purpose of cancelling or reselling.

Eissa Al-Suwaidi and Eissa Abdul Fattah Kazim are appointed as Chairman and Vice President of Etisalat Group respectively. Hisham Abdullah Al Qassem, Mohammed Sultan Al Hamli, H.E. Saleh Abdullah Lootah and Mariam Saeed Ghobash were appointed as members of the Board of Directors. The seventh member will be announced soon.

The General Assembly of Etisalat elected four Board Directors to fill the Board seats un-assigned for the Government Shareholder The new members are: Sheikh Ahmed Mohd Sultan Bin Suroor Al Dhahiri, Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Bin Nasser Alserkal. Khalid Abdulwahid Hassan Alrustamani, Otaiba Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba.

Etisalat Group net profit after Federal Royalty reached Dhs8.4 billion, resulting in a net profit margin of 16%. Furthermore, consolidated EBITDA totaled Dhs 26 billion for 2017, resulting in EBITDA margin of 50%.

Eissa Al-Suwaidi, Chairman, Etisalat Group: "Etisalat Group achieved positive performance in 2017 despite the rapid developments in the telecom sector as a result of the transition to the digital era and the unprecedented changes in the macroeconomic and geopolitical arenas in our footprint.

"As an industry leader, and as part of our natural progression, we are transitioning into a digital organization both internally and externally across our markets, albeit with different trajectories. Etisalat Group has led the transformation in the region by proactively responding to technological developments, and by adopting to the latest innovations and industry trends."

Al-Suwaidi highlighted: "Under our new powerful digitally inspired vision, our operating companies will be working jointly to realize such a digital ambition that will maximize growth opportunities moving forward.

The Gulf Today