Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Posts 23% Profit Rise On Higher JV Income

Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi state-owned investment fund with a mandate to develop the emirate’s economy, posted a 23 per cent increase in first-half profit, aided by higher income from joint ventures and one-off gains.

One of Abu Dhabi’s few state-controlled vehicles to publish results, Mubadala has interests in semiconductors, energy, aerospace and real estate among others, including General Electric, private equity firm Carlyle and local companies such as Aldar Properties and Tabreed.

Income from Mubadala’s joint venture businesses doubled to Dhs2.12 billion, thanks largely to Emirates Global Aluminium – one of the world’s largest aluminium producers – and Dolphin Energy, which pipes gas to the United Arab Emirates from fellow Gulf state Qatar.

That helped to lift net profit to Dhs1.34 billion ($364.8 million) in the first six months of 2014 from Dhs1.09 billion in the same period last year, its financial statement said.

Mubadala’s profit was also boosted by a near-tripling of income from one-off equity-related gains and disposal of subsidiaries, to Dhs1.44 billion.

The company sold a district cooling plant in Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah island and aerospace business Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) to Etihad Airways.

However, total comprehensive income fell by 37.4 per cent year on year to Dhs1.32 billion, with returns from its financial investment portfolio dropping to Dhs388 million from Dhs1.3 billion.