Dubai Investments' first-half profit rises 47% amid improving economy

Total income for the period was up 51 per cent as the company ramped up property sales

The portfolio of DFM-listed Dubai Investments includes stakes in real estate, industrial, financial services, healthcare and education companies.

Dubai Investments, a Dubai-listed investment holding company, reported a 47 per cent rise in its first-half net income on improved performance of its manufacturing, contracting and property portfolios as the UAE economy continues to bounce back from the pandemic-induced slowdown.

Net income for the six months through to the end of June rose to Dh302 million ($82.28m), the company said in a statement on Thursday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Total income for the reporting period also jumped 51 per cent annually to Dh1.72 billion as the company ramped up sales in its portfolio of property investments.

Sale of properties reached Dh356.97m at the end of June from Dh25.24m in the same period last year. Contract revenue rose to Dh101.32m from Dh89.4m in the first half of 2020.

Investment activities in the first six months of the year have “led to all-round growth that is quite promising”, Khalid Bin Kalban, vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Investments, said.

The company in which Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, Investment Corporation of Dubai, holds an 11.54 per cent stake, said its second-quarter net income declined about 16 per cent to Dh178.29m from the same period a year earlier.

However, the company is bullish on the prospects of growth in the remainder of the year as the UAE economy continues to recover from the pandemic.

The UAE economy is expected to grow 2.4 per cent this year. The non-oil economy of the Emirates is expected to expand around 4 per cent this year and next, while overall economic growth is expected to be 3.8 per cent in 2022, according to the UAE Central Bank data released in June.

“As we move forward with our plans for the latter half of 2021, we expect to continue building on the momentum and successes achieved so far,” Mr Kalban said.

Set up in 1995, Dubai Investments holds stakes in companies involved in a range of sectors including real estate, industrial, financial services, healthcare and education. It owns businesses such as Dubai Investments Park, venture capital company Masharie, Al Mal Capital and district cooling company Emicool.

It is assessing acquisitions in healthcare, education and other sectors and plans to launch a new real estate project worth Dh1bn in Ras Al Khaimah, Mr Kalban told The National in May.

“Key amongst these [growth strategies] is our commitment to diversifying into healthcare and education, as well as focus on real estate, including the ongoing development of mixed-use communities in Mirdif Hills and Fujairah,” he said on Thursday.

“We also continue to explore opportunities for sustainable growth across the sectors that we operate in.”

Dubai Investments' healthcare portfolio includes KCH Healthcare London, which manages King’s College clinics and hospitals in Dubai as well as Clemenceau Medicine International – an affiliate of Johns Hopkins International.

Holdings of the company in the education sector include two universities – Modul University Dubai and University of Balamund Dubai.

Last month Dubai Investments increased its stake in National General Insurance Company by 15.19 per cent in a Dh71m deal. It now controls 45.18 per cent of the UAE-based insurer.