Dubai Investments first-quarter profit surges 25%

Dubai Investments said first quarter profit jumped 25 per cent after it acquired a 50 per cent stake in Emirates District Cooling, also known as Emicool.

The diversified conglomerate said net income surged to Dh362 million in the first three months of the year from the corresponding period in 2017, according to an statement from the company. Total assets rose to Dh19.2 billion in the first quarter compared to Dh17bn as of December 31, 2017. Annualised return on equity in the first quarter was 11.86 per cent, the company said.

“The company has a strong pipeline of ongoing real estate developments such as Mirdif Hills and are also working on several other projects and transactions which will continue to enhance shareholder’s value,” said Khalid bin Kalban, managing director and chief executive of Dubai Investments.

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Mr bin Kalban said the projects included the creation of a multi-asset real estate investment trust, the initial public offering of Emicool and establishment of University of Balamand in Dubai. Dubai Investments is also targeting in financial services, education, health care and entertainment as it seeks greater diversification, he said.

In April, the chief executive told The National that the Reit would have an initial asset size of Dh3bn and would be listed on the Dubai Financial Market where shares of Dubai Investments trade. The Reit will include hospitals, hotels, shopping malls, warehousing, logistics, residential, offices and other commercial property in the UAE. Real estate accounts for about 68 per cent of the company's total assets and contributes 57 per cent of the group's revenues.

In January, Dubai Investments acquired an additional 50 per cent stake in Emicool from Union Properties for Dh500m, giving it full ownership of the utilities company. The acquisition of Emicool added Dh2bn to Dubai Investments' balance sheet and will likely help it grow its total assets to Dh20bn by the end of 2018, two years earlier than planned, Mr bin Kalban said in April.

Emicool provides district cooling services to more than 19,000 customers in the UAE. The company is planning to increase its capacity to 500,000 tonnes of refrigeration by 2020 as demand for district cooling in the UAE and the region continues to grow.