PHOTO
Abu Dhabi holding company Multiply Group, in which the UAE conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) is a major shareholder, posted a surge in its full-year 2022 net profit following a series of investments and a significant jump in revenues.
Total net profit for the period ended December 31, 2022 stood at AED 18.6 billion ($5 billion), up 80 times from AED 225 million in the previous year, while revenues tripled to more than AED 1.125 billion from AED 371 million in 2021.
The Group’s earnings per share for the same period rose to AED 1.65, from AED .06 in 2021, while total assets grew by 255%.
“We made a series of significant strategic investments that accelerated the growth of the company while, at the same time, our operating companies continued to deliver strong recurring earnings,” said Samia Bouazza, Multiply Group CEO and Managing Director.
Last year, the company spent over AED 12 billion in strategic investments in major businesses, including Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and International Energy Holding, among others.
In January 2022, the company invested AED 92 million in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, a direct-to-consumer e-commerce fashion company. In April, it invested AED 367 million in DEWA’s IPO and later acquired a 7.3% stake in TAQA last September.
Outlook for 2023
With the UAE economy still on a “strong growth momentum”, Multiply Group is “well-positioned” to continue its strong performance this year, according to Andre Sayegh, Multiply Group Chairman.
“The UAE economy is on a strong growth momentum and … corporate profitability will remain solid due to increasing economic activity that is supported by positive government regulations and projects,” Sayegh said.
He said the company will continue to further expand its company through “scalable acquisitions” and by “deepening” its current businesses.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
