Etisalat will cut its profits by Dh162 million ($44 million) because of the decision by its Saudi Arabian affiliate Mobily to restate 18 months of earnings, the Abu Dhabi-based firm said on Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates' biggest telecommunications operator owns 27.5 per cent of Mobily, which on Monday cut its profits for 2013 and the first half of 2014 by a combined SR1.43 billion

Etisalat's post-tax profit for 2013 will be reduced by Dh130 million ($35.3 million)and its profit for the nine months to Sept. 30 this year will be cut by Dh32 million ($8.7 million), it said in a bourse statement.

The reductions will be accounted for in Etisalat's fourth-quarter earnings, it added. – Reuters