UAE telecom operator du has posted a strong set of second-quarter results, with net profit rising 10 percent year on year even as regional geopolitical tensions weighed on customer activation across the market.
According to a company statement to the Dubai Financial Market, reported by AGBI, second-quarter revenue rose 5 percent year on year to AED4.1 billion (US$1.1 billion), while net profit climbed 10 percent to AED798 million.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | H1 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | AED4.1 billion (+5% YoY) | AED8.2 billion (+6% YoY) |
| Net profit | AED798 million (+10% YoY) | AED1.6 billion (+13% YoY) |
| Capital expenditure | AED653 million | AED1.0 billion |
| Mobile subscriber growth | +2% YoY | N/A |
| Fixed-line subscriber growth | +6% YoY | N/A |
Revenue: AED4.1 billion, up 5 percent year on year. Net profit: AED798 million, up 10 percent year on year. Capex: AED653 million, funding network and data centre expansion. Share price: AED12.38, up more than 26 percent since the start of 2026.
Growth held up, but the pace slowed
du recorded steady subscriber growth during the quarter, with mobile subscribers increasing 2 percent and fixed-line subscribers rising 6 percent compared with the previous year. CEO Fahad Al Hassawi noted that additions came at a more measured pace than in prior quarters, a direct reflection of slower customer activation since the onset of the Middle East conflict.
The first-half figures tell a similar story of resilience under pressure. For the six months to June 2026, du reported revenue of AED8.2 billion, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, while net profit climbed 13 percent to AED1.6 billion, outpacing the revenue growth rate and pointing to improving operating efficiency even as the topline growth moderated slightly from prior years.
Where the capital is going
Investment in network infrastructure continued to accelerate through the period. Capital expenditure reached AED653 million in the second quarter and AED1 billion for the first half of 2026, supporting expansion projects including new data centres being developed under an agreement with a global hyperscale technology provider
KEY INSIGHT: Why the data center push matters du's capex is increasingly weighted toward data centers and cloud infrastructure rather than legacy network build-out. For B2B buyers and startups evaluating UAE-based cloud or hosting providers, this signals more domestic hyperscale capacity coming online, potentially easing reliance on infrastructure hosted outside the region and supporting data residency requirements for regulated sectors.
Ownership and market reaction
The Emirates Investment Authority, which owns 50.1 percent of du, continues to back the company's long-term strategy centred on digital infrastructure, cloud services and next-generation connectivity. Investors responded positively to the results, with du shares rising 0.2 percent to AED12.38 on Thursday. The stock has gained more than 26 percent since the start of 2026, reflecting sustained optimism about the company's growth trajectory despite the wider regional backdrop.
