Abu Dhabi-based IHC’s 2022 profit surges to a record $8.9bn

International Holding Company (IHC) said its annual net profit surged 181 per cent in 2022 to a record $8.9bn (Dhs32.6bn), the holding company’s best profit record to date, driven by the firm’s “solid business strategy”.

The company’s Q4 2022 net profit jumped by 91 per cent to Dhs8.3bn, a significant increase from Dhs4.3bn in the same period a year earlier. IHC, the UAE’s most valuable listed firm, said its 2022 revenues soared by 78 per cent to reach Dhs50.9bn driven by the performance of its subsidiaries and the group’s strategic acquisitions that were completed during the year.

“The consistency of IHC’s revenue increase was achieved through new business acquisitions, organisational operational efficiency beyond cost management and by drawing a strategy that looks both internally and externally at the organisation’s process for how it works,” the Abu Dhabi-based firm said in a statement.

#InternationalHoldingCompany Solid Business Strategy for 2022 Logs Record of AED 32.6 billion in Profit https://t.co/GyCWB7n4iI

— International Holding Company (@ihc__official) March 10, 2023

IHC’s business strategy resulted in a 156 per cent increase in total assets to Dhs282bn at the end of December 2022 from Dhs89bn a year earlier. The increase in the number of its subsidiaries from 302 in 2021 to 482 fostered the company’s global business growth and development across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe as well as North and South America. IHC also increased its joint ventures and associates to 41 last year.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s IHC expands into Latin America, invests $200m in Lulo Colombia

“Our performance in 2022 is due in large part to the incredible work of over 125,732 people across the world, supported by the management team and we are looking forward to the opportunities that 2023 will bring as we remain committed to delivering stronger financial performance in the next few months,” said Syed Basar Shueb, IHC CEO and managing director.

IHC’s investment in 2022

Meanwhile, IHC has grown exponentially through acquisitions both inside and outside the UAE. The holding firm, which is majority-owned by a group headed by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, has a market capitalisation of Dhs866.4bn as of March 11, 2023.

IHC and its two subsidiaries – Alpha Dhabi Holding and Multiply Group – were cornerstone investors in several initial public offerings (IPO) in 2022 including Borouge, Dubai Electricity Water Authority and will be a cornerstone investor in ADNOC Gas IPO.

The company acquired equity stakes in three Adani Group companies, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, and Adani Enterprises, with a total investment of Dhs7.3bn last year. IHC, whose portfolio ranges from utilities to food and agriculture to information technology, acquired a 50 per cent stake in Turkish energy company Kalyon Enerji for Dhs1.8bn through its subsidiary International Energy Holding.

The conglomerate expanded into Latin America in October 2022 with a Dhs734mn investment in Lulo Bank, a fast-growing neobank in the Colombian market.

IHC said it remains focused on its core purpose of ‘sustaining a robust business model while extracting significant value for its shareholders from businesses of all sizes whose growth ambitions span multiple countries and regions in 2023.

“The global economy remained resilient, with the recent relaxation of pandemic restrictions in China providing more grounds for optimism in 2023, IHC will continue to drive commerce and prosperity in markets across the world through our unique investment’s diversity,” said Shueb.

The firm is teaming up with Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ to create a multi-asset class investment manager. The two entities are bringing in global private equity firm General Atlantic as a strategic partner and investor.

Read: ADQ, IHC to create MENA’s largest independent investment manager

Upon launch, the investment manager will manage a portfolio of assets from ADQ’s alternative investments platform, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund and IHC as well as fresh capital from founding shareholders and future investors to deploy globally.