Shares in UAE-based asset manager Dubai Investments rose sharply with the news that it will issue a 10% cash dividend for the year 2018.
The firm’s board of directors made the proposal on March 13, 2019 which led to a 3.82% rise in its share price by the end of the day’s trading. Dubai Investment’s shares were the most commonly traded on the Dubai Financial Markets, along with Aramex. The two stocks accounted for more than half of the day’s trading volume.
The firm’s chief executive, Khalid Bin Kalban, had suggested that its dividend for 2018 would be similar to the 12% dividend handed out for 2017, despite reporting a 34.9% drop in net profits.
Net profit for 2018 was $177.26 million compared to $272.29 million in the previous year.
There was, however, a 9.7% increase in revenue for the same period, from $756.98 million to $830.50 million at the end of 2018.
One of the main reasons for the drop in profit was due to the sharp fall in the net gain on fair valuation of investment properties, from $175.79 million to $27.75 million between 2017 and 2018.
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