e& Revenue Grows 6.9% as Nine-Month Profit Jumps Nearly 46% to Dh17.2 Billion.
Dubai: e& reported a consolidated net profit of Dh11.2 billion for the third quarter of 2026, boosted by the sale of its stake in Vodafone Group, while revenue growth and an expanding subscriber base supported its operating performance.
The UAE-based telecommunications group recorded a 6.9 per cent year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue to Dh19.5 billion. Revenue for the first nine months of the year rose 10 per cent to Dh57.6 billion.
Consolidated net profit for the January-September period reached Dh17.2 billion, marking a 45.9 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, according to the company’s financial results.
A key contributor to e&’s third-quarter performance was the completion of its sale of its entire stake in Vodafone Group. The transaction generated total proceeds of Dh21.9 billion, including the final dividend, and a gain of approximately Dh8 billion.
The disposal strengthened the group’s financial flexibility and contributed significantly to the sharp rise in reported earnings.
Operating earnings continue to grow
Beyond the Vodafone transaction, e& recorded growth across its core operations. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 5.1 per cent year-on-year to Dh9 billion in the third quarter, with an EBITDA margin of 46.1 per cent.
For the first nine months of 2026, EBITDA rose 10.3 per cent to Dh26.7 billion, while the margin stood at 46.4 per cent.
The group’s global subscriber base expanded 29.4 per cent year-on-year to 254.8 million during the quarter. In the UAE, the number of subscribers increased 5.2 per cent to 16.5 million.
Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Group CEO of e&, said the results reflected the strength of its connectivity business and effective operational execution.
“Our performance in Q3 2026 underscores the resilience of our business model and the discipline with which we are turning growth opportunities into tangible results,” he said.
AI investments take centre stage
The results come as e& marks its 50th anniversary and sets out plans to strengthen its presence in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure.
The group aims to expand its international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second by 2030, representing an increase of more than 25 times its current capacity.
The planned investment is designed to support faster data transmission, lower latency and more reliable international connectivity as demand for AI-powered services continues to grow.
e& said its strategy would integrate its existing strengths in telecommunications, digital services, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and fintech, while expanding the role of artificial intelligence (AI) across its operations.
Group CEO Masood M. Sharif Mahmood said the growing adoption of AI by businesses and governments was increasing demand for secure connectivity and computing infrastructure.
“Today, as AI is integrated more deeply into core enterprise and government operations, the foundational connectivity, compute, and secure infrastructure powering it become more critical,” he said.
The group is continuing to build on its telecommunications heritage while placing greater emphasis on connectivity, digital solutions and AI-enabled services.
The strategy reflects e&’s efforts to diversify beyond traditional telecommunications while continuing to invest in the network infrastructure that underpins its core business.
