Jafza posts 20pc drop in H1 net profit
Dubai, September 24, 2012
Dubai state-owned industrial hub Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) said profit for the first half of the year fell 20 percent as higher financing costs more than offset a rise in revenue.
The company, which completed a three-pronged financing package to repay a $2 billion-equivalent Islamic bond earlier this year, made a profit of 212 million dirhams ($57.72 million), down from 265 million in the same period last year.
Revenues rose to 712 million dirhams in the first half of 2012 from 662 million dirhams in the first half of 2012, company financial statements showed.
The company, which runs an industrial free zone on the outskirts of Dubai, incurred net financing costs of 243.8 million dirhams for the first half, an increase of 40 percent from the same period last year when such costs were 173.5 mln dirhams.
In June, Jafza, a unit of state conglomerate Dubai World , repaid the 7.5 billion dirham sukuk ahead of maturity after it secured refinancing through a $1.2 billion sharia-compliant loan, along with a new $650 million sukuk and internal resources. - Reuters
