Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Government's industrial investment arm General Holding Corporation PJSC (GHC) said, its net profits jumped 61 per cent to Dh 1.13 billion in 2009 from Dh 703 million in 2008, and achieved more than 16 per cent return to its shareholders.
"Total assets increased by 16 per cent to Dh18.4 billion in 2009," it said.
GHC is one of the UAE's largest industrial conglomerates and a major contributor to the Emirate's economic diversification initiatives.
Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of GHC, said, "General Holding Corporation is an integral part of Abu Dhabi’s industrial landscape and has followed a clearly defined strategic approach to grow significantly over the last five years, despite a challenging global economic environment. With a diverse and robust asset base, GHC has succeeded in maintaining its position in leading economic and industrial development in Abu Dhabi, in line with Vision 2030. We have grown our industrial and manufacturing assets in Abu Dhabi by more than Dh15 billion over the last five years."
In line with its five-year strategy, GHC focused on high value-add industrial investments that augment assets and pursued sound funding strategy for its investments, as evidenced by its strong liquidity position of Dh3.8 billion and balanced debt to equity structure.
Hussain Jassim Al Nowais, Vice-Chairman of GHC and Chairman of the Executive Committee, said, "Mandated to create, optimise and champion capital and energy-intensive industrial assets in Abu Dhabi, we are currently contributing more than 13% of Abu Dhabi's non-hydrocarbon industrial GDP, managing more than Dh18 billion of industrial assets for the government, and employing a workforce of over 17,000 UAE Nationals and expatriates. Going forward, we plan to provide a significant push in the manufacturing and industrial sector by continuing to contribute to Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030's GDP projections. By integrating our value proposition and collaborating with other Abu Dhabi players, GHC is in a unique position to realise optimal value for the Emirate's economic transformation."
