SWOT Analysis

Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat) is a telecommunication service provider

based in the United Arab Emirates. The principle function of the company is to provide
telecommunication, media, and equipment, and other consultancy services across 100
million customers across Middle East, Asia and Africa. It has employed more than
42000 employees and it has been headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Within Indonesia,
Etisalat has been operating as XL-Axiata. The analysis of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats is conducted as below:
Strengths:
Etisalat has been ranked among the large telecommunication companies in the world.
In Africa and Middle East, it is the largest telecommunication carrier whereas it is the
12th largest telecom operator in the world. The international operators of Etisalat also
enjoy leading marker shares. For instance, Etisalat Lanka is the 2 nd largest mobile
telecom operator in the Sri Lanka. In Sudan, Canar has almost 61.5% share that is
subsidiary of Etisalat. Within Pakistan, PTCL is the largest telecom operator
(MarketLine, 2013). On the other hand, Etisalat is also enjoying the leading position in
Egypts telecom industry. Within Indonesia, total subscribers of Etisalat have reached at
38.8 million by 2011 (Axita, 2011).
Etisalat has a diverse geographical presence because of which its international
revenues have increased from 25.9% to 28.3% from 2011 to 2012. This geographical
presence has allowed Etisalat to gain benefits of diversifying risk across different
economies. In this way, it has been less vulnerable to risk from a single economic
segment (MarketLine, 2013).
The financial position of Etisalat is strong that is identified from decline in the total debt
of company by 13.3% from 2011 to 2012 (MarketLine, 2013). In contrast, the revenues
of company have increased from 2.2% in 2012 as compared to that of 2011.

Weaknesses:
Although Etisalat has been a strong organization from financial viewpoint, but there are
some issues related with management. For instance, within Pakistan, Etisalat has been
engaged in a dispute with the government over property (MarketLine, 2013). This has
largely impacted the good repute of company. On the other hand, the ineffective
customer service of company is also major weakness in maintaining its market position.
Opportunities:
The telecom sector is expected to grow across the world. For instance, market reports
reveal that the mobile data traffic will grow at 77% compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) in Middle East and Africa during 2012 to 2017 (MarketLine, 2013). This growth
is positive for Etisalat to expand its operations in Indonesia. Besides this, the wireless
segment in the telecom market is expected to grow at 22-25% compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 22-25% till 2018. This shows that Etisalat will have opportunity to
enhance its wireless segment in Indonesia. The development of technology and
introduction of 4G technology in the telecom sector has also opened avenues for
Etisalat to expand operations through new technology in Indonesia.
Threats:
The telecom market within Saudi Arabia and UAE has been penetrated and saturated
that lowers opportunity for further growth. Etisalat forms the largest geographical market
by 71.6% share (MarketLine, 2013). This saturation eliminates the chances of growth
for Etisalat in the Middle East. Besides this, the competition in the telecom market of
Indonesia and international market is also intensifying in the presence of Global
Telecom Holding, MTN Group, and Vodafone (MarketLine, 2013).

References

MarketLine. (2012). Company Profile: The Emirates Telecommunications

Corporation Group. PP. 1-9

Axita. (2011). 2nd Quarter 2011 Results Analyst and Investor Briefing 23 August
2011.

Available

at:

http://axiata.listedcompany.com/misc/axiata_presentation_2Q2011.pdf Accessed
on: 24-12-2014