Etisalat yesterday posted an 8.5 percent year-on-year drop in first-quarter net profit to AED1.82 billion (US$495 million) as increased local competition eroded market share and weighed on revenues, reports Dow Jones Newswires. Etisalat, in a statement posted on the Abu Dhabi bourse website, said revenue in the three month period rose 2 percent to AED8 billion from the year earlier, while earnings per share dropped to AED0.23, from AED0.25.