KIPCO announces 17 pct rise in net profits for 1st half of 2015

KUWAIT, July 22 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Projects Company, known as KIPCO, has announced a net profit of KD 25.4 million (USD 84.1 million) in the first six months of 2015, an increase of 17 percent on the KD 21.7 million (USD 71.8 million) reported for the same period last year.
In the second quarter (the three months ended 30 June, 2015), KIPCO made a net profit of KD 13.4 million (USD 44.4 million), an increase of 17.5 percent on the KD 11.4 million (USD 37.7 million) profit reported in the same period of 2014, the KIPCO said in a press statement Wednesday.
KIPCO's total revenue for the first six months of 2015 increased 5.2 percent to KD 304 million (USD 1.01 billion) compared to the KD 289 million (USD 957 million) for the first half of 2014.
The company also saw a 4.4 percent rise in operating profit before provisions for the first half of 2015 to KD 81 million (USD 268 million) from the KD 77.6 million (USD 257 million) reported in the first half of 2014.
KIPCO's consolidated assets increased in the first half of 2015 to KD 9.6 billion (USD 31.8 billion) from KD 9.3 billion (USD 30.8 billion) at year-end 2014.
Tariq AbdulSalam, KIPCO's Chief Executive Officer - Investments, said the company's first half results reflect the continued strong performance of KIPCO's core businesses, in line with the company's objectives for the year: "At our Shafafiyah Investors' Forum in March, we announced that we aim to double our 2014 profits by 2018," he said.
"The results of the first six months of the year are on course to achieving this objective, as our core companies continue to grow their revenue and operating profit. The performance of our core companies is on track, and we expect them to continue to deliver positive performance for the remainder of 2015." (end) ibi