Well well well, the Q1 results for 2010 are out and Etisalat has made just under 2 billion dirhams in profits.
This is an offensively large amount of money especially for a small country (UAE has about 5 million people) that is going through a recession of sorts.
If this performance continues all through the year, and you cut a bit off for inefficiencies and what not, you will get a grand profit of about 7 bn dirhams a year! Just to clarify that's about $2bn! This qualifies Etisalat in my opinion to practically print money for its shareholders. It's a printing press, plain and simple.
To get an idea what this money could do, 7 bn shared over the whole UAE population would mean each one of us gets a handsome 1400 Dhs a year.. this equates to about the price of a good mobile phone. Now since it's only possible for Emaratis to buy Etisalat shares, we can safely assume that only Emaratis will profit from their profit.
So, for every Emarati there are 4 expats, this means that each one of us gets 5600 Dhs.. which could handsomely cover my annual fuel bill for my gas guzzling V8 SUV and bike, and this includes the coming 10-15% hike in prices.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100418-703266.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLEHeadlinesMideast
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9 comments:
this post was originally written on my blog yesterday:
http://bujassem.blogspot.com/2010/04/etisalat-press.html
To whom it may concern
I feel those numbers may be more than just a bit-off.
I think this state-owned telco monopoly deserves an even better take-home package. This, in comparison to their crappy services for overpriced, sugar-coated (data, voice, enterprise et al) E-salad packages.
can't disagree with you!
wise words.
Slightly off topic, but there annaul profit would have increased by 250*12 dhms had they managed to provide Internet Services at my home which i hopelessly trying to get for last 2 months. Applied twice, did a dozen phone calls, and visited customer service center 3 times and every time get assurance that internet will be provided soon. Have't happened yet :(
Hammad:
Yours is the-most strangest predicament I have come across during our tenure in the UAE. I recall the internet at our house was set up in 48 hours and the speed upgrade within 72 hours - something to do with our (net's) billing cycle. Having said this, keep pushing them until you succeed. Good Luck.
...and with all this money they still can't get a decent internet service for the extortionate prices we pay and then of course there's the annual mobile charge.
Etisalat is one more argument against monopoly capitalism which is another of the hypocrisies here as it's supposedly one of free market capitalism here.
Lucky old me I'm out of here soon and back to civilization.
I thought the guiding principle of economic policy in the UAE was free market capitalism. Etisalat is one example of an argument against a rapacious and not very efficient monopoly abusing its market position with its overpriced and not very good internet services.
Its "free markets" when free markets will lead to higher prices.
When free markets will lead to better service/less revenues, then its monopolies all the way !
I have given up on the high prices, but what I dont understand is why dont people get good service in return for the high prices
''I have given up on the high prices, but what I dont understand is why dont people get good service in return for the high prices''
...because it's the UAE man, captive market, no one to complain to or at least have complaints dealt with. No accountability.
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