Dubai Financial Market Q2 Profit Soars On Higher Trading

Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the Gulf’s only listed stock exchange, said second-quarter net profit surged on the back of higher trading values and renewed interest among investors lured by an economic recovery in the emirate.

The firm made a net profit of Dhs69.5 million ($18.9 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with Dhs10.2 million in the same period of 2012, a statement said.

The near-six-fold hike in profit was above the Dhs66.1 million forecast for the quarter by HSBC.

Having been battered by a sovereign-linked debt crisis and the bursting of a local real estate bubble at the end of the last decade, Dubai’s economy has been showing signs of vitality in recent months – something reflected by its bourse.

The emirate’s index advanced 37 per cent in the first six months of the year, making it one of the best-performing exchanges in the world.

DFM’s share price has also benefited from the improved investor sentiment. The stock closed at its highest level since late-2009 on Sunday, up 4.6 per cent, with its year-to-date gains advancing to 102.9 per cent.

DFM said in Sunday’s statement that revenue in the second quarter more than doubled to Dhs112.7 million from Dhs49.6 million in the corresponding period of 2012.

Much of its revenue is generated by trading commissions, which were boosted by a 222 per cent jump in the bourse’s value of stock traded year-on-year in the quarter, the statement added.

Profit for the first six months of 2013 was Dhs96.5 million, a 138 per cent increase on the same period of 2012.