e& profit jumps 45.9% to 17.24 billion dirhams on Vodafone sale

Summary

• e& reported nine-month net profit of 17.24 billion dirhams, up 45.9% year on year.
• A 7.71 billion dirham one-off gain from the full Vodafone stake exit drove the increase.
• Stripping out one-offs, underlying profit still rose about 30% to 8.75 billion dirhams.

The latest

Nine-month net profit at Emirates Telecommunications Group climbed to 17.24 billion dirhams, a 45.9% increase on the 11.81 billion dirhams booked in the same period of 2025, according to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed company's financial data. Revenue rose 10% to 57.61 billion dirhams. Most of the profit jump came from the disposal of the group's entire Vodafone holding.

Details

• The headline number: The company reported net profit of 17.24 billion dirhams for the first nine months of 2026, equal to 1.98 dirhams per share, against 11.81 billion dirhams a year earlier. The 45.9% increase is the group's reported figure and includes items that will not repeat in future periods.
• The Vodafone gain: A non-recurring gain of 7.71 billion dirhams was booked from the sale of e&'s full stake in Vodafone, according to the company's filings. That single item accounts for the bulk of the 5.43 billion dirham year-on-year increase in reported profit, making it the dominant driver of the headline growth.
• The second one-off: A further 773 million dirhams came from the reclassification of cumulative currency translation differences, an accounting entry that moves previously accumulated foreign exchange effects into the income statement. Combined with the Vodafone gain, non-recurring items total roughly 8.48 billion dirhams of the reported profit.
• The underlying picture: Excluding both one-off items, operating profit rose about 30% to 8.75 billion dirhams, according to the company's data. That figure is the cleaner read on the business itself, and it shows growth that is slower than the headline 45.9% but still well ahead of revenue expansion.
• Revenue growth: Group revenue increased 10% to 57.61 billion dirhams over the nine-month period. Because the underlying profit line grew roughly three times faster than revenue, the gap points to margin improvement rather than growth bought purely through higher top-line volume.
• The listing: e& trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where the results were disclosed. The company did not attach a full-year earnings forecast or a specific guidance range to the nine-month figures.
• What is not stated: The disclosure does not break out the contribution of individual operating markets or business units to the 10% revenue increase, nor does it specify how proceeds from the Vodafone disposal will be deployed, whether toward debt, capital expenditure or shareholder returns.

Background

e& is the Abu Dhabi-listed telecommunications group formerly known as Etisalat. Its holding in Vodafone had been among its largest international equity positions before the full exit recorded in this reporting period.

Between the lines

The two figures tell different stories about the same company. The 45.9% headline is a balance-sheet event: an asset was sold and the gain crossed the income statement once. The 30% rise in operating profit, achieved against 10% revenue growth, is the number that would survive into next year's comparison — and it is the one that makes the Vodafone exit look like a strong quarter's bonus rather than its foundation.

What's next

Watch the full-year 2026 results for the first clean comparison without the Vodafone gain, any disclosure on how the sale proceeds are deployed, and whether the gap between revenue and operating profit growth holds.

Source: Etsalat financial data on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange