du’s H1 profit up 12.6% as service revenue rises

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 23, 2026

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) posted a 12.6 percent rise in net profit for H1 2026, driven by increased service revenue and improved cost management, with net profit reaching 1.63 billion dirhams. Despite challenges from regional tensions slowing subscriber growth and tourism demand in Q2, the company approved an 8.3 percent higher interim dividend and maintained strong financial resilience.

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, known as du, reported a 12.6 percent increase in net profit for the first half of 2026, driven by higher service revenue and effective cost management. The company posted a net profit of 1.63 billion dirhams for the six months ending in June, up from the same period last year.

Total revenue reached 8.20 billion dirhams, marking a 5.8 percent growth compared to the previous year. Service revenue, a key indicator of du’s core operations, rose by 7.7 percent to 6.03 billion dirhams. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 10.5 percent, totaling 4.03 billion dirhams, with the EBITDA margin expanding by 2.1 percentage points to 49.2 percent.

The company’s board approved an interim cash dividend of 26 fils per share, representing an 8.3 percent increase from the year-earlier payout. Despite these gains for the first half, the second quarter experienced slower growth as du faced challenges related to regional tensions that impacted subscriber activations, tourism, and consumer spending.

In the second quarter alone, revenue grew 4.6 percent to 4.08 billion dirhams, while net profit rose 9.8 percent to 798 million dirhams. Service revenue climbed 6.7 percent to 3.01 billion dirhams, and EBITDA increased 9.2 percent to 1.99 billion dirhams. The quarterly EBITDA margin improved by two percentage points to 48.8 percent.

At the end of June, du reported a total mobile subscriber base of 9.3 million, up 1.6 percent year-on-year. However, the pace of growth slowed due to lower activation rates linked to regional instability. The postpaid segment saw a 9 percent increase, reaching 2.1 million customers, while prepaid subscribers declined by 0.4 percent to 7.2 million. The company attributed the decrease in prepaid customers primarily to a reduction in tourism-related demand, which was only partly offset by organic growth in prepaid user registrations.

Overall, du’s strong first-half financial performance highlights its resilience amid external pressures affecting the telecommunications sector in the region.

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