Tuesday, Jul 03, 2012
Dubai: Etisalat named Eisa Mohammad Al Suwaidi as its new chairman as part of a management reshuffle.
The telecom operator replaced its long-serving chairman Mohammad Omran and named six new directors following a decree by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Omran, who joined Etisalat in 1977, was named the company’s chairman in 2005.
The six new members are Abdullah Salem Al Daheri, Mubarak Rashid Al Mansouri, Shoaib Mir Hashim Khoury, Abdullah Mohammad Syed Gobash, Eisa Abdul Fattah Kazim, and Mohammad Hadi Ahmad Abdullah Al Hussaini.
The news is not surprising, said Matthew Reed, a senior analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, while noting that speculation was rife that Omran would resign.
“Etisalat has been reporting declining profits in eight of the past nine quarters amid small growth in international revenues, coupled with the India 2G spectrum scandal and a failed attempt to take over Kuwait-based Zain,” Reed said.
The changes come as etisalat, which operates in 17 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, tries to fend off stiffening competition from rival du, which ended etisalat’s domestic monopoly in 2007, and improve the performance of its foreign operations.
“Etisalat’s performance continues to be under pressure, balancing a vigorous defence of its domestic market position while focusing on international operations has remained a key challenge,” Bhanu Chaddha, senior research analyst, telecommunications, IDC, said.
Du has grown rather quickly and has captured a sizeable market share by offering sachet-based pricing models and micro-segmenting its offerings.
To arrest the decline in revenue base in the UAE market which accounts for nearly two-thirds of its overall revenues, etisalat’s new management “needs to be more proactive with its go-to-market strategies and should focus on improving user experience. Rationalisation of international portfolio may also be necessary to improve the company’s performance,” Chaddha said.
Shares in etisalat dropped 0.11 per cent to close at Dh9.19 on the Abu Dhabi bourse yesterday.
By Naushad K. ?Cherrayil Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
