Local companies listed on the UAE exchange boosted their earnings by over 20% last year to record their best results since the end of the oil boom 22 years ago.
The net profits of 38 firms that have released audited balance sheets for 2003 surged to nearly Dh10.18 billion ($2.77 billion), up 20.09 per cent over 2002.
Figures by the Abu Dhabi and Dubai bourses showed all sectors, including banks, insurance and services, made high profits as a result of a sharp growth in the domestic economy, strong oil prices, and an expansion and diversification in their services.
Investors in those ventures were rewarded with record cash payments of nearly Dh5.52 billion ($1.5 billion), an increase of at least 15% of the 2002 dividends.
Around Dh918 million ($250 million) worth of free shares were also distributed to subscribers, a staggering increase of 122% on the previous year.
The high profits lifted the investment yield to record highs, with return on shareholders equity standing at 18.3% and that on assets at 3.62%.
Dealers said they expect another record year for the nearly 45 companies trading their shares in the UAE as oil prices have remained high and the private sector is encouraged by surging public spending to pump more funds into projects.
The surge in profits sharply boosted the price of shares of most trading firms and pushed up the country's market capitalization by 37.5 percent to a record Dh194 billion ($52.8 billion) at the end of 2003 from Dh141 billion ($38.5 billion) at the end of 2002. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
