UAE’s IHC Raises Nine-Month Profit 87% to AED 32.5bn on Investment Income
International Holding Company (IHC), the Abu Dhabi-listed investment company, raised its nine-month profit after tax from continuing operations 87% to AED 32.5 billion, mainly on investment income, it says.
For IHC shareholders, the nine months to 30 September show two engines running at different speeds. Investment and other income reached AED 24.2 billion, a sum equal in size to 69% of profit before tax, on The Edge’s calculation. Revenue grew a steadier 33.2% and passed AED 100 billion.
In The Edge’s reading, the fair-value gains that lifted the profit move with market prices and are harder to repeat than the trading, property and hospitality revenue beneath them.
The company’s year-on-year comparisons are for continuing operations, and the results were filed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on 5 November with a management discussion and analysis report. Revenue reached AED 100.5 billion. Gross profit rose 35.4% to AED 25.3 billion, slightly ahead of sales.
Fair-value gains dominate investment income
Investment and other income rose 214.7%, the report shows. Fair-value gains on financial assets supplied AED 19.3 billion of it. Interest and dividend income added AED 3.8 billion.
Those fair-value gains alone were equal in size to 55% of profit before tax. Profit before tax rose 84.2% to AED 35.1 billion.
The company describes the outcome as consistent with its model as an investment holding company, where value comes from finding opportunities, managing the portfolio and executing initiatives at the right time.
Part of that investment income was generated within the Financial Services segment, according to the press release. The other seven segments raised their combined profit 37.5% to AED 12.6 billion. That equals 38.8% of group profit after tax, although the segment profits are stated before inter-segment eliminations.
The release adds that IHC unlocked liquidity from its early investment in SpaceX as post-IPO lock-up restrictions were released in phases. It also expanded its exposure to OpenAI, Anthropic and Cerebras. The release gives no figure for either move.
Costs grew faster than sales. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 48.8%, against revenue growth of 33.2%. Finance costs climbed 30.2% to AED 4.3 billion, which the company links to the increase in its total debt.
Profit attributable to owners rose 109% to AED 21.2 billion. Owners took 65.2% of profit after tax, with the balance attributable to non-controlling interests.
Earnings per share from continuing operations rose 129.6% to AED 9.71, faster than profit after tax. The company attributes the gap to a larger share of profit going to owners.
Nine-month income statement (in AED billions)
| Line | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 75.4 | 100.5 | 33.2% |
| Gross profit | 18.7 | 25.3 | 35.4% |
| SG&A expenses | 7.3 | 10.9 | 48.8% |
| Investment and other income | 7.7 | 24.2 | 214.7% |
| Profit before tax | 19.1 | 35.1 | 84.2% |
| Profit after tax | 17.4 | 32.5 | 87.0% |
Continuing operations, nine months to 30 September; changes as the company prints them. Earnings per share rose to AED 9.71 from AED 4.23. Return on equity reached 20.8%, against 15.2% for the year to December 2025, on the company’s trailing basis.
Energy and Mining nearly quadruples as property stays the largest segment
Seven of IHC’s eight segments grew revenue, led by Energy and Mining. That segment’s revenue nearly quadrupled to AED 19.3 billion on the scale-up of minerals, metals and hydrocarbon trading. It swung to an AED 1.7 billion profit from an AED 0.2 billion loss.
The segment supplied 59% of the rise in segment revenue, The Edge calculates, which makes Energy and Mining a larger part of the group’s top line than a year earlier.
Real Estate and Construction remained the largest segment, with revenue up 12.8% to AED 33.3 billion. The company credits new launches of high-demand developments and progress on construction under way. Marine and Dredging grew 3.7% to AED 22.4 billion.
Hospitality and Leisure almost doubled its revenue to AED 7.8 billion. Its gross profit rose 131.3% to AED 4.3 billion, so the segment earned more on each dirham of sales.
Services and Other was the exception. Its revenue fell 23.5% to AED 5.5 billion. Its gross margin still improved, to 37.9% from 31.6%.
Nine-month revenue by segment (revenue in AED billions)
| Segment | 9M 2025 | 9M 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate and Construction | 29.5 | 33.3 | 12.8% |
| Marine and Dredging | 21.6 | 22.4 | 3.7% |
| Energy and Mining | 4.9 | 19.3 | 295.1% |
| Hospitality and Leisure | 4.0 | 7.8 | 93.7% |
| Services and Other | 7.1 | 5.5 | -23.5% |
| Food | 4.0 | 5.1 | 25.7% |
| Financial Services | 2.8 | 4.4 | 53.7% |
| Technology | 2.4 | 2.9 | 20.5% |
Segment revenue is stated before inter-segment eliminations, so the segments sum to slightly more than group revenue; changes as the company prints them.
Third-quarter revenue grows 30.8% at a lower margin
Third-quarter revenue rose 30.8% to AED 35.6 billion, a little slower than growth for the nine months as a whole. The quarter supplied 35.4% of nine-month revenue.
Energy and Mining more than tripled its quarterly revenue to AED 7.1 billion. That is 36.8% of the segment’s nine-month revenue. Real Estate and Construction grew 17.3% in the quarter to AED 12.4 billion.
Gross profit for the quarter rose 25.7% to AED 8.5 billion, slower than revenue. The quarter’s gross margin of 23.9% sat below the nine-month margin of 25.2%. The report gives no profit figure for the quarter alone.
Third quarter (in AED billions)
| Line | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 27.2 | 35.6 | 30.8% |
| Gross profit | n/a | 8.5 | 25.7% |
| Real Estate and Construction | n/a | 12.4 | 17.3% |
Three months to 30 September; the report prints the prior-year quarter for group revenue only (n/a: not printed) and gives no profit figure for the quarter alone; changes as the company prints them.
Borrowing funds the deal programme as net debt more than triples
Total assets rose 13.4% to AED 485.9 billion from the end of 2025. The company attributes the rise to a larger investment portfolio and the acquisition of subsidiaries, assets, associates and joint ventures.
Total debt, which covers borrowings, sukuk, hybrid notes and the finance liability, rose 26.6% to AED 106.9 billion. Additional borrowings of AED 16.1 billion drove most of the increase. Sukuk and hybrid notes added AED 6.5 billion.
Net debt more than tripled to AED 30.4 billion from AED 9.6 billion, reflecting financing raised for the investment programme. The company says it deployed an estimated AED 25.0 billion into associates, joint ventures, financial assets and investment properties in the period.
Cash still covers most of the debt, though less of it than in December. Cash and bank balances of AED 76.6 billion covered 71.7% of total debt. At the end of 2025 the cover was 88.7%.
Net debt equalled 11.0% of total equity, against 3.8% nine months earlier. Equity funded 56.7% of total assets at 30 September, down from 58.5%.
The company reports a quick ratio of 2.6 times, down from 2.9 times. Its debt to equity ratio rose to 0.4 times from 0.3 times. Non-current debt made up 73.4% of the total.
Balance sheet (in AED billions)
| Item | Dec 2025 | Sep 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 428.6 | 485.9 | 13.4% |
| Total liabilities | 177.9 | 210.5 | 18.3% |
| Total debt | 84.4 | 106.9 | 26.6% |
| Cash and bank balances | 74.9 | 76.6 | 2.3% |
| Total equity | 250.7 | 275.4 | 9.9% |
| Owners’ equity | 152.8 | 170.5 | 11.5% |
At 31 December 2025 and 30 September 2026; total debt comprises borrowings, sukuk, hybrid notes and the finance liability; changes as the company prints them.
ePointZero, a subsidiary of 2PointZero Group, completed what the press release calls a $2.25 billion acquisition of US-based Traverse Midstream Partners in July. The company calls it ePointZero’s entry into the US natural gas infrastructure market. The management discussion and analysis report puts the consideration for all of Traverse’s equity at AED 7.31 billion, and neither document explains the difference.
In financial services, Judan Financial Holding bought 50.1% of Alpha Wave Global for AED 1.84 billion. It also took 26.67% of India’s Sammaan Capital for AED 1.79 billion.
IHC completed the purchase of Pakistan’s First Women Bank, which the release describes as the first privatisation of a bank in Pakistan under a government-to-government framework.
Two further deals await approvals: the proposed purchase of 80% of Marlan Holding, a space technology company, and ePointZero’s agreement to buy 90% of Azura Power Holdings. Azura has 752 megawatts of operating capacity in Africa.
As The Edge set out in June, 2PointZero completed the sale of its 7.29% stake in Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) to Abu Dhabi Power Corporation.
IHC also bought back its own shares. By 30 September it had spent AED 705 million on an estimated 1.9 million shares, according to the company. That is 39.2% of the AED 1.8 billion first tranche of its second buyback programme. That programme totals AED 5 billion.
Syed Basar Shueb, IHC’s chief executive, called revenue above AED 100 billion an important milestone. “Our focus remains on maintaining financial discipline and deploying capital selectively,” he said.
The company says the outlook remains subject to geopolitical, inflationary and financial market uncertainty, and that it will stay selective in deploying capital.
Figures are from International Holding Company’s press release and its Management Discussion and Analysis Report for the nine months ended 30 September 2026, both filed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on 5 November 2026; percentages and comparisons not attributed to a source are The Edge’s calculations.
Sources: International Holding Company, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, The Edge.
