Dubai Investments said third quarter net income more than doubled as business picked up pace amid a continued economic recovery.
Net income for the three months ending September 30 climbed to Dh213 million (Dh58.04m) from Dh105m reported at the end of the same period in 2019, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.
The company's profits were boosted by an 11 per cent increase in total income to Dh768.3m. Other income, which includes "compensation agreed and forfeiture of advance rent upon cancellation of leases, income from leased operations, management fees, advertisement and miscellaneous income", increased to Dh79.3m, up from just Dh5.8m in the same period last year.
"Despite challenging times, we were able to achieve strong performance this quarter," Khalid Bin Kalban, vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Investments, said.
“Overall, business has started to pick up and we are focusing on successfully navigating through the changing business dynamics."
Dubai Investments, in which sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai holds an 11.54 per cent stake, has interests in real estate, industrial, financial, healthcare and education companies. Net income for the nine-month period slid to Dh418m, from Dh498m a year earlier. Total nine-month revenue reached Dh1.9 billion, down from Dh2.1bn in the same period last year. Total assets increased to Dh21.5bn, up from Dh20.6bn at the end of last year.
A review of the company's business plan and an optimisation of resources has been “instrumental” in enhancing its resilience to Covid-19 headwinds, Mr Kalban said.
The listing of Al Mal Capital’s real estate investment trust on the DFM is part of that review, he said. Al Mal, an asset management subsidiary of Dubai Investments, last month received regulatory approval to float its Reit on the emirate's bourse.
Al Mal Capital Reit plans to raise Dh500m from the public offering and invest proceeds in a diversified portfolio of income-generating real estate assets backed by secure long-term lease agreements, it said in a statement at the time.
“In the current environment, investors are looking for secure, long-term attractive returns and this Reit and DFM listing will meet investors’ needs, providing a liquid vehicle to access a sector with strong fundamentals,” Mr Kalban said on Tuesday.
