Abu Dhabi-Mubasher: Global Investment House recommended “Buy” rating on Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat, according to report published.
Etisalat saw a rally of 65% in the past twelve months, which has made the stock expensive.
The telecom operator’s stock deserves to trade at a premium to its peers in GCC.
Global expected UAE market to contribute 58.9% and 63.6% to the company’s revenue growth in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Pakistan operations were a drag on Etisalat’s growth in Q1-16, the report said, adding that revenues from Pakistan operations fell by 6.0% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q1-16.
The company achieved a significant growth of 9.0% y-o-y in Egypt, driven by data revenue. However, Global expected the full year results to turn negative in AED terms due to the sharp currency devaluation of 13.0% in March 2016.
Etisalat is likely to maintain a dividend payout of AED 0.8 per share during the forecast period.
