Dubai Investments Co's first-quarter profit would be satisfactory given current market conditions, its CEO said in remarks carried on Wednesday, adding income of the firm's real estate arm would slump 86 percent.

Shares of the company surged almost 15 percent after the remarks from Khalid bin Kalban, carried by daily Emirates Business.

"The results are satisfactory compared to the market conditions," Kalban was quoted as saying, referring to a sharp correction in real estate prices in the former boomtown.

"The main constraints came from the real estate arm," Kalban said, adding profits from its property division in the first quarter amounted to about 15 million dirhams, down from 110 million dirhams in the year-earlier period.

Dubai Investments, a diversified holding company, posted net profit of 488.28 million dirhams in the three months to March 31 last year. The firm is due to announce its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Developers in the United Arab Emirates have been hit hard as the global financial crisis ended a six-year construction boom.

Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of projects have been cancelled in recent months while valuations and sales have fallen.

The firm's shareholders approved on Tuesday distribution of 10 percent in bonus shares and a 10 percent cash dividend for 2008. Kalban could not immediately be reached for comment. -Reuters