| Kippreport.com

Ringing the Changes

May 2, 2011 3:32 by Eva Fernandes

Last week Etisalat posted its less-than-rosy first-quarter results; but since then the telco has been in the news too often for Kipp to ignore. So, today, we bring you a quick round up of all of that has happened with the giant telco:

Q1 Results: To start with, Etisalat reported that its first-quarter net profit fell by 8.9 percent on account of rising operating expenses. To be specific, Etisalat reported a Q1 profit of Dh1.82 billion, down from Dh1.99 billion in Q1 2010. Of course, Etisalat has been having a rough couple of months, what with the painfully long, drawn out bid to buy a $US12 billion (DH44.1 billion) stake in Zain, withdrawing from plans to bid in Syria. It later emerged that Etisalat’s group chief financial officer, Salem Al Sharhan has resigned due to personal reasons.

Dh108 million from Musanada for EFM: Etisalat Facilities Management has been awarded a contract worth Dh108 million to service 121 government buildings across Abu Dhabi. As per the three-year contract, Etisalat Facilities Managment will cover all mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

Etisalat launches e-Hospitality: This week, the telecommunications giant also announced the launch of its ‘e-Hospitality’ services—a special IT package created for the hospitality sector which will provide hotels with voice PRI, Internet Dedicated Access (IDA) and Etisalat TV services.

Etisalat-HSBC agreement: As per the agreement Etisalat will provide IT solutions for HSBC’s corporate clients and also HSBC staff members. Etisalat Lanka CEO, Dumindra Ratnayaka said, “We are indeed pleased to provide services to HSBC and to have this partnership. With our expanding network and Business Edge solutions, we believe that we could add much value to HSBC for their communication and business needs.”

Etisalat live broadcast of Welterweight Championship: And finally, Etisalat announced  that it will be airing a live broadcast of the World Welterweight Championship: Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley, which is taking place at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The match will be telecast live on eLife/e-vision’s Pay-Per-View channel 435 on May 8th, at 5am.

Tags: Etisalat, etisalat q1, etisalat q1 2011, etisalat round up, etisalat round up 2011