MUBADALA SAYS PROFIT DOUBLED IN LANDMARK YEAR

▶ Total comprehensive income rose to Dh10.3bn on sale of mature assets

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment firm, said total comprehensive profit more than doubled in 2017 compared with the previous year on gains from the sale of mature assets and an increase in the value of its financial holdings.

Total comprehensive income rose to Dh10.3 billion in 2017 compared with Dh5.1bn in 2016, the company said. Revenue climbed to Dh165.6bn in 2017 versus Dh145.4bn in 2016, boosted by the upstream and integrated, petrochemicals and semiconductor sectors.

“2017 was a landmark year for our new organisation,” said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the group chief executive and managing director of Mubadala.

“All four global platforms contributed to our strong financial and operational results. The scale of our integrated portfolio enabled us to increase investments in existing companies and monetise mature assets, while entering new sectors in key international markets where we see long-term growth potential and alignment with Abu Dhabi’s strategic opportunities.”

At the same time, the investment firm lowered its gearing ratio to 28.7 per cent at the end of December 2017 compared to 29.6 per cent at the end of 2016.

“In 2017, we made significant progress by reducing overall leverage while maintaining appropriate liquidity to deploy capital in new investments,” said Carlos Obeid, chief financial officer of Mubadala.

“In addition, we took the opportunity to monetise some of our assets which provided a significant return on our original investments, in line with our mandate to deliver financial returns to our shareholder.”

Total assets rose to Dh469.4bn at the end of 2017 compared with Dh449.7bn at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, total equity rose to Dh258bn at the end of 2017 up from Dh228.3bn at the end of 2016.

The results do not include the financials of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.

Adic joined the Mubadala Investment Company group in March 2018, a move that will boost Mubadala’s assets under management to over $200bn amid consolidation of wealth funds in the emirate.

Adic’s investments include First Abu Dhabi Bank; the largest bank in the UAE in which Adic has a 33.4 per cent stake, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, in which it has a 62.5 per cent and Union National Bank in which it has a 50 per cent stake.

Adic also founded Al Hilal Bank, a Sharia-compliant lender.

Additionally, Adic has stakes in Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Abu Dhabi Aviation Company, and Invest AD, an asset manager.

Adic has assets valued at $123bn, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, while Mubadala has assets that are valued at $127bn.

Mubadala Investment Company was formed through the merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company last year.

Mubadala, which is active in 13 industries and 30 countries around the world, places emphasis on forging partnerships with organisations that have high standards of governance and has been active striking deals in recent months.

This month, it acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Phoenician Capital, a New York-based investment management company.

The purchase, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, was made through Mubadala Capital, the company’s financial investment arm.

In March, Mubadala and Greece’s New Economy Development Fund said the pair will set up a €400 million (Dh1.78bn) platform to co-invest in the European country. Under the terms of the agreement, both parties will chip in €200m each to the co-investment platform.

Mubadala’s total assets rose to Dh469.4bn at the end of 2017 compared with Dh449.7bn at the end of 2016