Growth in customers and their deposits helped Dunia Finance to nearly double its profits in the first half of the year.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered finance company, whose shareholders include the investment vehicles Mubadala Development, owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, and Fullerton Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, yesterday reported net income of Dh55.6 million, up 91 per cent from Dh29.1m a year earlier.
"Our ability to attract new customers and enhance existing relationships, alongside careful management of our costs, has allowed us to further strengthen our balance sheet," said Rajeev Kakar, the managing director and chief executive."Dunia expects to see continued franchise and financial growth."
Customer numbers grew by 23 per cent during the first half of the year to 125,267. Customer deposits rose by 36 per cent to Dh436.7m, compared with Dh321.7m in the same period last year.
The expanding customer base helped revenues to swell to Dh166.4m, up by 27 per cent from Dh131.3m in the same period of last year.
Dunia has benefited from a gradual pick-up in the UAE economy, underpinned by strong oil prices, a recovery in the property market and robust tourism and trade figures. The company provides loans, credit cards and other financial products to consumers and small businesses.
"With the UAE's macroeconomic fundamentals looking increasingly positive, we are well placed to capture future market share, hinged around our core strategy of putting the customer first with special focus on the consumer mass market, mass affluent, small business and SME segments," said Mr Kakar.
Dunia announced an interim dividend of Dh16 per share for the first half of the year, equal to the full-year dividend for last year.
Waha Capital, the Abu Dhabi-based investment company, and Al Moosa Enterprises, a UAE business, are also shareholders in Dunia.
