Apicorp posts net income of $52.9m

Dubai: The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) yesterday reported net income of $52.9 million for the period January to September compared to $50.2 million for the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

The board of directors of Apicorp, an affiliate of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec), also approved the purchase of a seven per cent stake in the $300 million capital of the Egyptian Methanecs Meth-anol Company. The company aims to establish a methanol plant in the city of Damiatta with a production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes a year for export.

The company's project and trade financing activity during the period between July and September of this year reached $2.2 billion, with Apicorp's final take totalling $220 million. These facilities were offered to oil related industries in a number of Arab countries including Oman, Libya, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The company's assets reached $2,776 million in September compared with $2,342 million at the beginning of the year, an 18.5 per cent increase. Shareholder equity climbed to $967 million compared with $849 million at the beginning of the year, a 14 per cent increase.

The board of directors of Apicorp held its third meeting of this year on Saturday in Makkah where they reviewed the financial statements of the Corporation for the period from January to September 2006.