ABU DHABI - UAE telecoms giant Etisalat announced Wednesday net profits of $625 million in the second quarter of 2016, a 51-percent jump on the same period of last year.

Net profit in April-June after royalty reached 2.3 billion dirhams ($625 million), Etisalat said, while revenues increased two percent to 13.3 billion dirhams ($3.61 billion).

The surge in profits is in stark contrast with Etisalat's performance in the corresponding period last year, when profits plunged 40 percent.

The group attributed the fall largely to the impact of additional provisions for its troubled Saudi unit, Mobily, as well as forex losses.

Etisalat's profit also dropped eight percent in the first quarter of 2016, due mainly to forex losses in Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan.

Etisalat is the second largest Arab telecoms firm after Saudi Telecom in market value. It has 163 million customers in 17 countries.

The UAE government, which owns a 60-percent stake in the company, decided in June last year to open it up to foreigners for the first time.