Emirates Telecommunications Corporation

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation is the second-largest Arab phone company, and better known in its UAE base as Etisalat. It is a name already familiar to millions across the region, and in the UAE alone the operator’s mobile subscriber base grew 14 percent in 2008 to 7.3 million.

However, 2008 ended on a disappointing note as Etisalat recorded a 20 percent decline in Q4 profit. Net income in the three months to December was $384m compared with $479m in the year-earlier period.

Despite this setback, Etisalat’s management is certainly in a bullish frame of mind: the company hasn’t been hurt by the global financial crisis, CEO Mohammed Al Qamzi was quoted as saying earlier this month. Revenue growth isn’t a concern for the company this year even in the face of falling consumer demand, Al Qamzi insisted, speaking weeks after the operator led a group that won Iran’s third mobile-phone licence.

Away from the Gulf, Etisalat in February netted a $15.3m agreement to sponsor Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona for four years. Etisalat has become Official Telecoms Partner of the team, while FC Barcelona has agreed to play a match in two countries within Etisalat’s Middle East and Africa network before 2013.