Shuaa Capital, the Dubai-based investment bank that helped arrange last year's $5 billion DP World IPO, said fiscal fourth-quarter net profit fell by almost half to Dh58.9 million ($16.04 million), including minority interests.

Net profit in the three months to March 31, excluding minority interests, was Dh53.1 million, compared with Dh107.8 million in the year-ago period, Shuaa said.

Shuaa's operating income was Dh107.7 million compared with Dh169.7 million, it said. Shuaa's fiscal year begins on April 1.

Gulf Arab stock markets, where Shuaa invests about 60 per cent of its clients' money, recovered last year after crashing in 2006.

Dubai's main stock index, for instance, traded around 5,700 points during the three months to March 31, compared with about 4,200 points in the year-earlier period, according to Reuters data.-Reuters