ABU DHABI – October 28, 2026 -- etisalat's consolidated net profit for the first nine months of 2026 rose 45.9% year-over-year to AED 17.2 billion, boosted by the completed sale of its entire Vodafone Group stake. Q3 net profit alone reached AED 11.2 billion.
Vodafone exit delivers AED 21.9 billion in consideration
The Vodafone divestment generated total consideration of AED 21.9 billion, including the final dividend, and a gain of approximately AED 8.0 billion. etisalat said the transaction adds financial flexibility.
Stripping out the gain, Q3 net profit was AED 3.2 billion with earnings per share of AED 0.37. Adjusted nine-month net profit was AED 9.2 billion, with EPS of AED 1.06.
Q3 revenue grows 6.9% to AED 19.5 billion
Consolidated revenue for the third quarter rose 6.9% year-over-year to AED 19.5 billion. Nine-month revenue reached AED 57.6 billion, up 10.0%.
Q3 EBITDA increased 5.1% to AED 9.0 billion at a 46.1% margin. Nine-month EBITDA grew 10.3% to AED 26.7 billion, with a margin of 46.4%.
Subscriber base expands 29.4% to 254.8 million
The group's total subscriber base reached 254.8 million in Q3, up 29.4% year-over-year. In the UAE, subscribers rose 5.2% to 16.5 million.
etisalat targets 500 Tbps of international capacity by 2030
The company plans to expand international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second by 2030, over 25 times current capacity. It is also developing diverse routes aimed at low-latency performance and reliability.
The build-out accompanies a new strategy to become a leading AI-powered, enabling telco, announced as the group marks its 50th anniversary and moves forward under the etisalat name. The strategy focuses digital services, cloud, cybersecurity, AI, infrastructure and fintech around its telecommunications base.
Group CEO Masood M. Sharif Mahmood attributed the results to the "resilience of our business model" and execution discipline, adding that AI's deeper integration into enterprise and government operations raises the importance of connectivity, compute and secure infrastructure.