du secures $1 billion in finance from banks
News

du secures $1 billion in finance from banks

Shares and finance.jpeg

Emirati telco du has secured long-term financing worth more than US$1 billion (AED 3.769 billion).

The financing was confirmed via regulatory filing this week, however the move was confirmed by the board of directors in a meeting on 26 April.

du said the funds will be used for infrastructure deployment and "general corporate purposes", after Q1 net profits declined 27% this year.

The company declared a net profit of AED 257 million ($69.9 million) during Q1, compared with AED 355 million in the same period last year. However, net profit for the January-March period more than quadrupled against Q4 2020, on the back of an improving economy, the operator said.

The funds have been provided by "a group of banks", although the institutions were not named in the filing.

The financing is comprised of two parts: a AED 1.981 billion equivalent five-year revolving credit facility and AED 1.788 seven-year term loan facility, du confirmed in its statement.

Announcing du's financial results last month, acting CEO Fahad Al Hassawi, said: “The end of Q1 marks the end of a full year of COVID 19. During Q1 2021, we continued seeing additional signs of gradual recovery in our general macro-environment. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is hitting its stride with over 10 million vaccine doses administered to the nation’s residents. Mobility is increasing with the hospitality sector opening up, international tourism improving and people adapting their lives to COVID 19 situation. Telecommunication needs remains a key component of everyone’s life."

Gift this article