Dubai sovereign wealth fund ICD posts Dh15.5b net loss in 2020

Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) on Tuesday announced Dh15.5 billion net loss for 2020 as its revenues and operations were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The group had posted Dh25 billion profit in 2019.

Its revenues fell 40.3 per cent to Dh136.1 billion with material drop recorded in transportation and oil and gas revenues, and flat income in banking and financial Services. ICD profits were most coming from the resilient banking and financial services subsidiaries, especially contribution by DenizBank AS, as part of Emirates NBD.

ICD’s holds stakes in a number of major companies including Emirates airline, flydubai, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Enoc, Emirates NBD bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Borse Dubai, Commercial Bank of Dubai as well as in a number of real estate, industrial, retail and hospitality and leisure companies.

“The pandemic restrictions imposed across the globe affected all travel, hospitality, retail and real estate activities to various degrees and contributed to a material decline in the price and demand for oil,” ICD said in a statement on Tuesday. The net loss attributable to the equity holder was Dh18.9 billion.

Assets were down one per cent to Dh1.11 trillion, whilst liabilities were essentially flat at Dh869.3 billion. The group’s share of equity decreased 5.9 per cent to Dh192.6 billion. “Despite the severe effect of the pandemic on the group’s revenue and profitability, ICD was able to secure a solid balance-sheet, sustainable operations and financial stability in 2020 owing to proactive steps taken by the group. From the outset and as the pandemic raged on, the group focused on preserving the continuity of its businesses and safe operations for their employees and customers,” said Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, managing director, Investment Corporation of Dubai.

“As the global crisis continued, the Group entities regularly reviewed the adequacy of their plans, reducing costs and adapting their model,” he said.

“Several of the group entities benefited from the timely decisions taken by our shareholder, the Government of Dubai in response to the pandemic and our businesses are today strongly positioned to seize the opportunities presented by global economic activities now gaining momentum with the international vaccine roll-out,” Al Shaibani said.

— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com