UIC nine month net profit leaps 259% to KD 6.66 million (US$ 22.81 million)

Earnings per share for the period rose to 44.39 fils (15.20 cents), compared with 12.51 fils (4.28 cents) in the first nine months of 2004.

UIC chairman Sheikh Khalifa Al Abdulla Al Jaber Al Sabah said the Company's sales grew 56 per cent in the nine months period, supported by improved conditions in local markets. Sales volume for UIC subsidiary United Fisheries Company of Kuwait (UFK) increased 30 per cent, while the sales of subsidiary Kuwait United Catering & Hotels Management Company posted a remarkable growth of 100 per cent.

He said UIC associate Hempel Gulf Group had increased its sales volume by 11 per cent and was currently working on merging its Middle East branches under the Bahrain-based Danish & Middle East Paints Holding Company. Sales of associate United Projects Company jumped 88 per cent, favourably reflecting on net profits, with the company's operating results showing a growth rate of 670 per cent compared with profits of the same period in 2004.

UIC, a specialised investor in the oil, power, gas and foodstuffs sectors of GCC and neighbouring countries, is an associate of KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO). Its portfolio includes industry leaders SADAFCO; UFK; United Oil Projects Company,and industrial paints specialist Hempel Gulf Group.

Kuwait Projects Company is Kuwait's largest private sector company with more than US$ 15 billion under management or control, and a portfolio of some 55 companies with major activities in financial services and media & telecommunications, as well as real estate, industry and management & advisory services, throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, as well as substantial ownership interests in the U.S. and Europe. KIPCO employs more than 12,000 people internationally and its shares are among the most actively traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange