­USA based Emirates Integrated Telecommunications (Du) has reported a 12.9% rise in its third-quarter revenues of AED2.52 billion (US$689 million) and a one-third jump in profits before royalty of AED654 million (US$178 million). 

The company saw its customer base grow by 227,800 taking the total to 5.96 million - a rise of 20.7% over the past year. Du estimates its market share at around 47.2% of the UAE market.

Osman Sultan, du's Chief Executive Officer, said: "Financial performance during the third quarter was stable, with a solid improvement in data usage. This reflects the global trend which indicates a shift of some voice revenues to data."

"Operationally, we maintained control on overheads, although we saw certain costs increase due to seasonality and with the initialisation of outsourcing arrangements. Our focus on efficiency continues, as our company continues to mature."