Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du)

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, operating under the du brand, has developed from the UAE’s second telecommunications operator into a broader digital-infrastructure and technology company spanning mobile and fixed connectivity, enterprise services, data centres and digital platforms.

Commercial operations began in 2006, introducing greater competition into the UAE telecommunications market. Malek Al Malek serves as chairman. Over the past two decades, du has progressively expanded beyond conventional connectivity as demand for cloud services, enterprise technology, data capacity and digital infrastructure has increased across the country. The company entered 2026 after delivering record financial results in 2025. Revenue increased 8.7 per cent to Dhs15.9bn, while EBITDA rose 13.4 per cent to Dhs7.34bn. Net profit advanced 16.8 per cent to Dhs2.91bn, with an EBITDA margin of 46.1 per cent. Momentum continued during the first half of 2026. Revenue increased 5.8 per cent year on year to Dhs8.20bn, while service revenue rose 7.7 per cent to Dhs6.03bn. EBITDA increased 10.5 per cent to Dhs4.03bn, lifting the EBITDA margin to 49.2 per cent. Net profit rose 12.6 per cent to Dhs1.63bn. Operating free cash flow increased 9.7 per cent to almost Dhs3bn, while capital expenditure rose 12.7 per cent to Dhs1.04bn as the company continued investing in network and digital infrastructure.

Subscriber growth also continued. By H1 2026, du had around 9.3 million mobile subscribers and approximately 744,000 fixed subscribers. The company is increasingly building businesses around its connectivity infrastructure rather than relying solely on traditional telecom revenues. Data centres, ICT services, enterprise technology and investments through du Ventures are intended to expose the group to higher-growth parts of the UAE’s digital economy.

Another capital-markets milestone came in 2026 with du’s inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, increasing its visibility among international institutional investors.

Connectivity remains the foundation of du’s earnings, but its strategic direction increasingly resembles that of a digital-infrastructure group. The key question for the next phase is how effectively it can turn continued investment in data, cloud and enterprise capabilities into sustained revenue and margin growth.