Etisalat telecoms profit surge 51 percent

UAE telecoms giant Etisalat announced Wednesday net profits of $625 million in the second quarter of 2016, a 51-percent jump on the same period of last year. Net profit in April-June after royalty reached 2.3 billion dirhams ($625 million), Etisalat said, while revenues increased two percent to 13.3 billion dirhams ($3.61 billion). The surge in profits is in stark contrast with Etisalat's performance in the corresponding period last year, when profits plunged 40 percent. The group attributed the fall largely to the impact of additional provisions for its troubled Saudi unit, Mobily, as well as forex losses.