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GHC profit jumps 15% grwoth in profit

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi’s public sector industrial conglomerate, the General Holding Corporation (GHC), bucked the global economic trends by earning 15 per cent more profit in 2011 over the same period a year ago.

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The Corporation earned Dh1.5 billion in profits up against Dh1.3 billion a year earlier, ignoring the euro debt crisis and regional unrest, saidHussain Jasim Al Nowais the chairman of General Holding Corporation. The industrial arm of Abu Dhabi saw revenues climbing to Dh11.5 billion in 2011 from Dh9.9 billion showing an improvement of 16 per cent, said Al Nowaisat a Press conference in the capital.

Al Nowais said the financial performance of GHC, one of the largest industrial investment and holding companies in the country, highlighted the positive progress made over the past three years and demonstrates its high degree of efficiency in managing its investment activities.

The corporation runs 14 industrial units from steel and aluminium manufacturing to cement, concrete blocks and food processing to logistics directly and indirectly, through a number of subsidiaries.

Two of its subsidiaries in food and building materials business were privatised through sale of shares to Emiratis. Aghtia and Arkan, which offered a minority 49 per cent share are quoted on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

“The corporation grew its total assets over the past three years to Dh23.7 billion at the end of 2011 compared to Dh21.6 billion at the end of 2010, representing a 30 per cent increase in assets, which stood at Dh18.2 billion at the end of 2009, the chairman said.

The industrial arm of Abu Dhabi’s profits were boosted by the earnings from its oil and gas construction firm National Petroleum Construction Company, or NPCC, that won a big contract in India, after completing profitable ventures in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Emirates Steel was another profitable unit that contributed strongly to GHC’s earnings, he said.

Al Nowais highlighted the progress of the Corporation’s investment portfolio with total industrial investments of Dh2.7 billion last year compared to Dh2.5 billion in the same period the year before.

The chairman of GHC underlined the group’s stability and strong financial position. “The company continues to generate strong cash flows from operating activities enabling the self-funding of its industrial investments and the maintenance of a balanced leverage policy.”

Abu Dhabi is targeting a 25 per cent of its gross domestic product coming from the industrial sector, against 15 per cent in 2011, which he said would be boosted by GHC like investors, who are creating clusters of downstream industries.

haseeb@khaleejtimes.com

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