Dubai - Mubasher: Dubai Financial Market Company (DFM Company) announced on Sunday its financial results for the first quarter of the year, reporting a 69% drop in net profits to AED 67.7 million compared to AED 215.1 million in the same period in 2014.

The firm also posted a revenue decline by 55% to AED 114.5 million during the quarter compared to AED 255.6 million in Q1-14. Revenues comprised AED 96.9 million of operating income and AED 17.6 million of investment returns, according to DFM Company’s statement.

Operating expenses grew to AED 46.8 million in Q1-15 compared to AED 40.5 million in the same period of 2014.

“DFM’s trading value has dropped 65.3% during the first quarter to AED 38.2 billion compared to AED 110 billion during the corresponding period of last year,” the statement revealed, adding that trading commission was the main revenue stream for the DFM Company.

Essa Kazim, chairman of Dubai Financial Market (PJSC), said trading activity was greatly hindered during the quarter due to circumstances outside of the strong fundamentals of the UAE’s economy or the outstanding performance of listed companies.

He added that the steep decline in oil prices in 2014 accelerated the slowdown, leading to a 66% decline in the daily average of trading value to AED 606.4 million compared to AED 1.7 billion during the same period of last year, resulting in overshadowed revenue.