DFM reports 24% fall in fourth quarter profit

Revenues for the last three months of 2017 dipped 17%

According to UBS, 81 per cent of wealthy individuals and business owners in the UAE are optimistic about local and regional stocks. Bloomberg.

Profit at the Dubai Financial Market, the only publicly traded index in the Arabian Gulf region, dropped 24 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, as lower trading values affected revenues amid subdued trading.

The exchange recorded net income for the three months ending December 31 at Dh 59.5million, from Dh78.5m reported a year earlier, the DFM said. Total revenue for the last three months of 2017 decreased 17 per cent to Dh108.3m, compared to Dh131.2m during the corresponding period of 2016.

Full-year net profit also dropped by 8 per cent to Dh233m from Dh253.5 in 2016, while total revenues fell 4 per cent to Dh421.6m.  Operational revenues for 2017 came in at Dh321.1m, while revenues from investments reached and Dh100.5m, DFM said, without giving comparative figures.

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The exchange, which mainly earns income from commission fees, said the overall trading value last year dropped by 13 per cent to Dh115 billion.

Essa Kazim, chairman of DFM cited “unfavorable global circumstances related to oil prices and international markets’ volatility” as the reasons for drop in trading values which weighed heavy on the company’s profits.

Stock markets in the Gulf including the DFM have lagged a global stocks rally as lower oil prices and political uncertainty dented investor confidence. The S&P 500 Index in the United States has consistently hit records highs last year and MSCI's Emerging Markets index has also posted significant gains for the year.

The benchmark DFM General Index this year has risen 0.7 per cent; DFM shares closed at Dh1.12 on Wednesday, the same price as their end of 2017 level.

The exchange last year added Emaar Development company to its list of traded securities, the largest listing on the index since 2014.

Mr Kazim said despite the headwinds, DFM as an exchange “maintained its attractiveness as the market of choice for companies looking to list their shares whether through initial public offerings or as a dual listing”.