Middle Eastern holding firm Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) said on Sunday net nine-month profits jumped 50 percent to 18.2 million dinars ($61.8 million) from a year ago on a big rise in revenues.
"The 2004 nine-month profit figure equals KIPCO's full year profit figure in 2003, its 12th year of unbroken profitability," said the Kuwait-based company with more than $10 billion in assets under management or control.
KIPCO, whose 2003 net profit had soared 182 percent to 18.2 million dinars, owns stakes in companies in telecommunications, media, financial services, real estate and industry in the Middle East and Africa.
Among those, it owns a stake National Mobile Telecom, the Kuwaiti telecom concern building an Iraq mobile phone network.
In a statement, KIPCO said that its latest nine-month profits rose from 12.1 million dinars in the first nine months of 2003. Earnings per share came in at 18 fils versus 12 fils. There are 1,000 fils per dinar.
KIPCO said revenues for the latest period soared to 52 million dinars ($176.8 million) from 41 million dinars in the corresponding period of last year.