By: Bedour Al Raey

Abu Dhabi – Mubasher:  The listed companies in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) showed a 27.5% growth in net profits in the first quarter of 2017.

The net profit of the 61 local companies which announced their financial results so far has reached about AED 10.9 billion ($2.97 billion), compared to AED 8.55 billion ($2.3 billion) in the comparable period of 2016, registering an increase of AED 2.34 billion.

The banks sector’s net profits rose 6.69% to AED 5.8 billion in Q1-17, compared to AED 5.43 billion,

The telecom sector accounted for 19.23% of the total net profit by AED 2.09 billion in the first three months in 2017, compared to AED 2 billion in same period in 2016.

The services sector’s net profits surged 440.38% to reach AED 1.61 billion in Q1-17, supported by the Gulf Medical Projects Company’s (GMPC) financial results, compared to AED 297.7 million in the comparable period in 2016.

On the other hand, the investment sector, represented by Waha Capital, witnessed a net loss of 50.17% to reach AED 87.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, compared to AED 175.8 million in the same period last year.

The industrial sector saw a decline in net profit by 27.7%, representing 1.65% of total profits of the sectors.

The energy sector turned to profit during the period between January and March 2017, as Dana Gas and TAQA’s profits reached AED 40 million and AED 77 million, respectively.

The real estate sector saw a growth of 1.35% to AED 677 million in Q1-17, compared to AED 668 million in Q1-16.

Translated by: Mohamed Nabil