Mubadala reports strongest annual profit in 20-year history

Assets under management climbed more than 16 per cent to $284bn at the end of 2021

Mubadala Investment Company grew assets under management to $284bn. Photo: Mubadala

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, said comprehensive income surged almost 70 per cent in 2021, making it the "strongest financial year" in its 20-year history, driven by a sharp rise in investment returns and monitisation of assets.

Comprehensive income jumped to Dh122 billion ($33.2bn) in 2021 from Dh72bn a year earlier, the company said.

“Mubadala continues to invest in sectors that are changing the world and impacting global business. As markets rose and the economy began to recover from the pandemic, we looked for opportunities to take some of our strongest companies public and invest with world-class partners in high-growth sectors and geographies," Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s group chief executive and managing director, said.

"We are managing for value as well as staying focused on our long-term mandate to find commercial opportunities despite the current challenging and complex global economic outlook, with headwinds such as inflation, supply chain disruptions and tighter monetary policy," he said.

Assets under management climbed more than 16 per cent to Dh1.04 trillion at the end of 2021 from Dh894bn a year earlier.

Growth was supported through investment returns, monetisation of certain assets and new partnerships it struck last year.

The company listed its wholly-owned semiconductor manufacturing unit, GlobalFoundries, in a $2.6bn initial public offering on the Nasdaq that valued the New York-based chipmaker at nearly $26bn. It also listed Yahsat on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in a deal that raised $731 million.

Mubadala invested Dh125bn during 2021 in key sectors in the UAE and abroad, it said.

In the UK, Mubadala invested Dh2.5bn in CityFibre, the country's largest independent fibre infrastructure platform. It also expanded an existing partnership with Bpifrance with €4bn ($4.22bn) to invest in developing French enterprises with proven growth potential, and high growth technology sectors in France.

The fund invested Dh1.3bn in Culligan, a leader in sustainable water solutions and Dh2.9bn in Marshall Wace Tops World Equity Fund, one of the largest alternative asset managers.

In the UAE, Mubadala Health, which has brought health care providers such as Imperial College of London and Cleveland Clinic to Abu Dhabi, launched as an integrated healthcare network for patients seeking specialised care.

Mubadala Capital, which began operations in 2011, also became a wholly-owned subsidiary with $13.7bn of assets under management, including the third-party capital it manages, Mubadala said.

At the end of the last year, 34 per cent of Mubadala’s portfolio comprised direct and indirect investments in private equity, with 31 per cent in public markets and 14 per cent in real estate and infrastructure, among others.

“Our consistent profit growth in 2021 reflects the relevance of Mubadala’s investment strategy to focus for the long-term on sectors, asset classes and geographies that are positively contributing to global progress," group chief financial officer Carlos Obeid said.

"As the global economy began to recover, we maximised opportunities to monetise our mature assets and invest further into growing sectors with tailwinds. Mubadala ended the year more diversified and resilient, and better prepared for the more uncertain macroeconomic environment ahead.”

Mubadala is at the heart of the government’s plans to diversify Abu Dhabi's revenue base and generate income from sources other than oil. The company’s portfolio of investments spans five continents with interests in aerospace, information and communications technology, semiconductors, metals and mining, renewable energy, oil and gas, and petrochemicals.

In the UAE, the company has stakes in Emirates Global Aluminium, green-energy company Masdar, aerospace manufacturing company Strata, satellite communications company Yahsat and Mubadala Petroleum, among others.

Last year, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Taqa became shareholders in Masdar with Mubadala to boost the clean energy company's renewable power capacity to more than 50 gigawatts by 2030.