Sunday 2 May 2010

Kuwait Finance House First-Quarter Net Declines 21%

Kuwait Finance House, the country’s biggest Islamic bank, said first-quarter profit fell 21 percent after setting aside more money for potential bad loans.

Net income dropped to 30.9 million dinars ($107 million), or 12.6 fils a share, from 39.3 million dinars, or 15.9 fils, the bank said in an e-mailed statement today.

“KFH continued to follow a conservative policy that aims to cement its financial status and sustain sufficient provisions to face any consequences of the crisis,” Chairman Bader Abdulmuhsen Al-Mukhaizeem said in the statement. Kuwait Finance House “is keen on making sufficient provisions to diminish any risks in the meantime and the future,” he said.

DIFC Investments Posts 2009 Loss of $561.4 Million

DIFC Investments LLC, the company owned by state-owned Dubai International Financial Centre, posted a 2009 loss of $561.4 million, compared to a $842.5 million profit a year earlier, the company said.END

Dubai Shares Tumble on Deyaar’s Quarterly Loss; Abu Dhabi Drops

Dubai’s benchmark index declined, leading a drop in United Arab Emirates shares, after Deyaar Development PJSC and Aldar Properties PJSC reported first- quarter losses.

Deyaar, the Dubai-based developer, tumbled to its lowest close on record. Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s biggest property developer, fell to its lowest level in two months after missing analysts’ estimates. The Dubai Financial Market Index slipped 0.9 percent to 1,724.27, extending last month’s 5.6 percent decline. ADX General Index retreated for a fifth day, losing 0.1 percent.

Earnings “have all come out weaker than expected, particularly on the real-estate front,” said Dubai-based Rabih Sultani, a fund manager at Duet Mena Ltd. in Dubai, a unit of Duet Group, which oversees $2.1 billion.

DFM's net profit falls 8% to Dh53.6m

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) Company announced yesterday its preliminary financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, with a net profit of Dh53.6 million, down eight per cent from the Dh58.5 million in the corresponding period of 2009.

DFM's quarterly revenues were Dh90.4 million compared to Dh95.3 million in the same period of 2009.

Revenues comprised Dh69.9 million in operating income and Dh20.5 million in return on investments. The company's operating expenses remained constant at Dh17.8 million.

Investors on road to Damascus

Interest in Syria’s property market is gaining momentum among investors from the Gulf and beyond, as the country tries to ease a shortage in residential and commercial accommodation.

Many Gulf developers, including Emaar Properties and Qatar’s Diar, moved into Syria in early 2008, just months before the global financial crisis hit the Gulf’s property sector.

Majid Al Futtaim Properties, the company behind Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, is pushing ahead with its plans in Syria, which has emerged relatively unscathed from the economic downturn.

UAE's ADNOC awards $5.6 billion worth of contracts for Shah

Italy's Saipem (SPMI.MI) emerged as the biggest winner in a $5.6 billion round of contracts from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for the Shah gas field, days after ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) bailed out of the project.

Saipem was awarded three contracts, worth a total of around $3.1 billion, for a gas process plant, sulphur recovery and product pipelines.

South Korea's Samsung Engineering (028050.KS) won a $1.5 billion contract for the utilities and offsite package.

Saudi Shares Rally Most in Week as Oil Rises Above $86 a Barrel

Saudi Arabian shares advanced the most in more than a week after oil prices rose for a third day, topping $86 a barrel.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s largest petrochemical maker, and Saudi International Petrochemical Co., or Sipchem, helped lift the Saudi Tadawul All Share Index 0.7 percent higher to 6916.79, extending last week’s 0.7 percent advance. Red Sea Housing Services Co. gained the most in more than three months on a new $131 million contract.

Stocks have rallied 13 percent so far this year as the global economic recovery spurred demand for commodities, boosting earnings prospects for companies. Saudi Basic posted a first-quarter profit last month from a loss a year earlier on renewed demand for its products.