Dubai sovereign wealth fund records 23% uptick in first half revenue

The Investment Corporation of Dubai posts Dh115bn in revenue

ICD executive director Mohammed Al Shaibani says the company delivered "a solid performance" despite global growth slowdown. DIB 

The Investment Corporation of Dubai, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, reported a 23.4 per cent increase in first half revenue to Dh115.1 billion mainly thanks to higher income from the oil and gas sector.

Net profit dropped 3 per cent in the first half to Dh10bn as higher income from financial services offset lower earnings from the transportation sector, ICD said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Net profit benefited from continued strength in banking and financial services, which offset headwinds in transportation services due to increased fuel prices and the strength of the US dollar,” it said.

ICD's strategic holdings include the carriers Emirates and flydubai, a stake in Emirates Global Aluminium and Dubai’s biggest lender Emirates NBD. Profitability at Emirates in the first half of this year dipped because of higher fuel costs sparked by the rebound in oil prices this year versus last year.

“ICD’s financial results in the first half of 2018 reflect the resilience and continued growth of its portfolio companies,” said ICD executive director Mohammed Al Shaibani.  “ICD remains focused on investing in opportunities that will deliver long-term growth and contribute to the prosperity of Dubai.”

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The value of its assets in the first half of this year rose 1.7 per cent to Dh858.9bn from the end of 2017 thanks to an uptick in loans and receivables in banking and financial services and growth in the transportation sector.

Liabilities rose 2.4 per cent to Dh631.5bn from the end of 2017, mainly due to higher customer deposits in from the banking and financial services sector.

Earlier this year, ICD agreed to buy 25 per cent of Corporación America Italia, a unit of New York-listed Corporación América Airports, the world’s largest private airport operator, for an undisclosed sum.

CAI is the controlling entity of Toscana Aeroporti, a publicly-traded Italian company that holds and manages the concessions for Florence and Pisa airports in Italy.