UAE's largest companies see big drop in profits for first half of 2009

Nicosia, Aug 6 (ANI): The largest firms of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw their profits drop by more than 39 per cent in the first half of the current year, Emirates Business has reported.

Research by the business newspaper showed that net profits of the biggest firms by market capitalisation fell by more than AED10bn.

In the first half of 2008, the total net profit for these companies stood at AED26.32bn, but this has dropped to AED16.01bn this year - a decline of 39.15 per cent, Emirates Business said.

The drop was blamed on the impact of the global financial crisis and a slowdown in the local economy. It is remarkable, however, that when most big companies in the world are reporting huge losses, the big companies in the UAE continue to make profits, although much smaller than in the past.

Etisalat, with a market capitalisation of more than AED74bn, was named as the UAE's most valuable company, according to data on the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX).

The firm's net profits declined by 10.25 per cent in the first half of the year from AED2bn to AED161m, Emirates Business reported. (ANI)