e& has reported a landmark financial year for 2025, yielding a consolidated revenue of AED 72.9 billion, which marks a 23.1 percent increase from the previous year. This growth was accompanied by a 33.6 percent surge in consolidated net profits to AED 14.4 billion, driven by aggressive international expansion and the strengthening of digital business verticals. Alongside these fiscal achievements, the group announced that Group CEO Hatem Dowidar will step down on March 31 after six years of leadership, with Masood M Sharif Mahmood appointed to succeed him in a dual role as Group and UAE CEO starting April 1.
The international portfolio saw significant consolidation and growth through key acquisitions and network upgrades across Europe and Asia. In Europe, the group advanced its convergence strategy by acquiring SBB Serbia BroadBand and combining UPC Broadband Slovakia’s fixed assets with O2 Slovakia’s mobile operations. Additionally, the completion of the Telenor Pakistan acquisition by PTCL has positioned the group for enhanced service delivery in the region. Khaled Hegazy, Chief International Officer at e&, noted the importance of these operational milestones, stating, “Our FY2025 financial results demonstrate the Group’s performance and key milestones reached across our markets.”
Infrastructure development remained a core focus as the group successfully launched 5G services in Egypt, Morocco, and Serbia. In Egypt, the rebranding of e& Cash to e& money signaled a deeper push into the fintech sector, while in Morocco, joint ventures like UniFiber and UniTower were established to accelerate fiber rollout. These initiatives contributed to a massive expansion of the total subscriber base, which grew by 31.3 percent to reach 244.7 million users globally.
The group’s financial health has allowed for a proposed total annual dividend of 90 fils per share for 2025, with a commitment to increase this to 95 fils in 2026. This shareholder value is anchored by the “e& UAE” pillar, which alone surpassed 16.3 million subscribers. The leadership transition comes at a time when the company has successfully pivoted from a regional telecom operator into a global technology powerhouse.
Historically, e& (formerly Etisalat) has been the cornerstone of the UAE’s telecommunications sector since its founding in 1976. Over the last decade, it has aggressively diversified its portfolio to include enterprise solutions, fintech, and digital entertainment to mitigate the plateauing of traditional mobile voice revenues. This strategy has transformed the entity from a utility provider into a diversified investment conglomerate with operations spanning the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe.
