Abu Dhabi's state-owned fund International Petroleum Investment Company ( IPIC) said its net profit surged 6.7 per cent to Dh3.2 billion ($871 million) for the first half from last year's Dh3 billion helped by the recovery of equity markets.

IPIC, which owns stakes in companies such as Spain's Cepsa and Austria's OMV, however saw a slight drop in its revenues which fell to Dh95.7 billion from Dh96.7 billion. As a result, the Abu Dhabi firm's operating income too decreased from Dh6.2 billion to Dh5.2 billion.

The total assets stood at Dh233.1 billion as of June 30, 2013 compared to Dh239.3 at December 31, 2012, largely due to the unwinding of derivative positions, with a corresponding decrease in liabilities, said the company in its statement.

The total equity increased from Dh57.2 billion to Dh58.3 billion, said IPIC, which also owns a stake in Italian bank Unicredit through its Aabar Investments unit.

The total liabilities decreased from Dh182.1 billion to Dh174.8 billion, while the total borrowings decreased Dh8.7 billion to hit Dh126.3 billion, it added.

Commenting on the performance, Khadem Al Qubaisi, the managing director said: “IPIC’s results once again demonstrate the strength of our portfolio, and our ability to create value to its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi.”

The company continues to seek investment opportunities while prudently managing its balance sheet, as demonstrated by the recent repayment of Dh7.345 billion of debt in September 2013, he stated.

IPIC’s credit rating is Aa3/AA/AA by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, respectively, he added.-TradeArabia News Service