Kuwait's KIPCO posts 295% rise in H1 profit

Company, also known as KIPCO, announced a net profit of KD16.6m ($60.5m) for the first six months of 2011.This represented an increase of 295 percent compared to the KD4.2m ($14.4m) profit for the same period last year.KIPCO's second quarter profit of KD8.5m ($30.97m) was an increase of five percent on the KD8.1m ($29.2m) reported for the previous quarter, the company said in a statement.KIPCO said its total revenues for the first six months of 2011 increased by nine percent to KD178.8m ($651.5m) compared to the first half of 2010.KIPCO's consolidated assets decreased in the first half of 2011, to KD5.38bn ($19.6bn) from KD5.66bn ($20.2bn) for the year-end 2010.Tariq Abdulsalam, KIPCO's CEO - Investment, said KIPCO's second quarter results were in line with the company's expectations."Our first half results - and the growth trends underpinning them - have met our expectations...This is an indication perhaps that regional and local markets are beginning to stabilise and recover some momentum."He added: "While it may be too early to claim that the worst of the financial crisis is over and that we have passed a point where profits will begin to return to pre-crisis levels, perhaps the signs of growth we are seeing indicate a gradual recovery within local and regional markets."As a result, we continue to be optimistic that by year end, we will see an improvement in profitability across our key operations."