Dubai Investments Says H1 Net Profit More Than Doubles

Dubai Investments said on Sunday that its net profit for the first six months of the year more than doubled, on the back of gains from the divestment of one of its assets.

The conglomerate, in which sovereign fund Investment Corp of Dubai owns an 11.5 percent stake, posted a net profit of AED805 million ($219.2 million) in the six months to June 30, compared with 370 million dirhams in the same period of 2013.

The company did not provide quarterly figures but Reuters calculated a net profit of 540 million dirhams in the second quarter based on financial statements. This would be more than three times the AED158.5 million it made last year.

In May, Dubai Investments divested a 66 percent equity stake in its wholly-owned pharmaceutical unit Globalpharma to an investor group led by French drugmaker Sanofi. This contributed a profit of AED472 million for the first-half period, the statement added.

Originally published on www.arabianbusiness.com