ABU DHABI: The UAE telecom major e& (formerly Etisalat) has a significant repayment challenge ahead, with AED26.9 billion ($7.33 billion)in borrowings due before March 31, 2026, even after using proceeds from a major asset sale to trim its short-term debt.
As per the financials, the group’s current borrowings stood at AED 33.9 billion as of March-end 2025 – nearly half of its total borrowings of AED 68.64 billion.
These borrowings are classified as current liabilities, meaning they are due for settlement within 12 months. e& is the largest telecom operator in the Middle East by assets, with a balance sheet size of AED192 billion (($52.35 billion) as of March 31, 2025.
In early April, e& repaid around AED7 billion of these obligations using the proceeds from the Khazna Data Center stake sale. That leaves the group with AED 26.9 billion to settle before the end of March 2026.
businessbenchmark.news reached out to the company to understand how it plans to manage this debt load.
In response, a company spokesperson said, “We don’t want to make a forward-looking statement now,” indicating that the group is either still finalizing its strategy or not yet ready to disclose it publicly.
Khazna sale supports bottom line
The Khazna transaction provided a timely boost to e&’s liquidity position. On March 26, 2025, the group completed the sale of its 40 per cent stake in Khazna Data Center Holdings Ltd to Group 42 Holding (G42) for $2.2 billion (AED 8 billion).
The group recognized a gain of $1.4 billion (AED 5.1 billion) on the deal, before federal royalty and corporate tax. The profit has been booked under finance and other income in the latest quarterly results.
With the investment in Khazna now derecognised, the transaction not only shored up liquidity but also made a material contribution to the group’s profitability for the period.
International growth gains pace
The group’s segment performance remained steady, with the UAE operations reporting revenue of AED8.43 billion and a segment result of AED3.67 billion (before royalty and tax) for Q1 FY25. The international segment recorded revenue of AED7.14 billion and a segment result of AED 1.57 billion.
In the year-ago quarter (Q1 FY24), the UAE segment had reported AED8.21 billion in revenue and AED 3.63 billion in segment result, while the international business posted AED5.02 billion in revenue and AED 1.12 billion in segment result.
The strong year-on-year growth in international revenue and earnings highlights the rising contribution of overseas operations to the group’s overall performance.
