Dubai Investments hit but expansion still on

What's Down: Dubai Investments, an investment company which is more than 10 per cent owned by Dubai's sovereign wealth fund, reported a 30 per cent drop in profits for the second quarter.

Dubai Investments, the largest investment company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, reported a 30 per cent drop in profits for the second quarter.

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The company said it hoped to secure additional funding to expand its operations in the second half of this year.

Net income was at Dh137.9 million for the quarter compared with Dh196.3m in the same period last year.

The company derives most of its revenue from the UAE and other Gulf countries and has been making an export push outside the region.

Dubai Investments' portfolio includes property assets, a stake in Emirates District Cooling as well as investments in companies such as Dubai Investments Industries, Gulf Investments Park and Dubai Investment Real Estate Company.

Its manufacturing business has faced setbacks due to the regional unrest in Libya, Syria and Yemen, Reuters reported last month.

Dubai Investments has secured only a quarter of the Dh1.2 billion loan it wanted to raise to expand its operations.

"Negotiations for additional facilities are at advanced stages and expected to be concluded in the second half of the year," said Khalid bin Kalban, the chief executive, in a statement to the Dubai bourse.

The loan was to be used for the expansion of Emirates Float Glass, its glass manufacturing unit in Abu Dhabi, and to complete the last phase of its industrial development Dubai Investments Park.

The Dh300m loan from Dubai Islamic Bank was at 350 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (Libor).

Mr bin Kalban last month said plans to sell 30 per cent of its private equity unit Masharie through an initial public offering (IPO) had also been put off for at least two months. The long-planned IPO was slated for the middle of this year but will now not be before the end of September.

Dubai Investments dropped 1.9 per cent on the Dubai Financial Market to 76 fils a share. The results were released after the trading session.

Dubai's sovereign wealth fund, Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), owns an 11.5 per cent stake in Dubai Investments. ICD, which owns stakes in companies including Emirates Group, yesterday said it would repay in full $4bn of loans that mature this month rather than opt for refinancing.