UAE corporates earnings outperform GCC in 9M

03 Dec 2014

(MENAFN) The UAE market recorded an increase by 33.5 percent in its corporate earnings during the January-September period of this year and continued to outperform the GCC region, mainly driven by higher earnings in the real estate sector, Khaleej Times reported.

During the first three quarters of this year, the UAE has been the best-performing market in the GCC region as Dubai’s corporate earnings expanded 55.5 percent compared to the same period last year to reach USD5.1 billion led by real estate and construction, which registered a growth by 47.4 percent, and investment and financial services growing by 125.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s corporate earnings expanded 22.8 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2013 to reach USD8.3 billion, after the telecommunications sector registered a growth of 24.8 percent, driven by Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, which posted a growth of 20 percent.

Emirates Telecommunication Corporation growth is attributed to higher profits from recently acquired Maroc Telecom and its associates, and Sudan Telecommunication, which reported USD29.53 million profit during the nine-month period compared to a loss of USD34.73 million in the same 2013 period.

During the first nine months of this year, corporate earnings in the GCC region rose 13 percent to USD52.0 billion, with the UAE corporate earnings leading, followed by Saudi Arabia with a 10.4 percent growth, Qatar with 3.8 percent, and Bahrain and Oman, which recorded lower corporate earnings growth of 1.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.