ADX-Listed Firms Outpace Peers in Corporate Earnings in H1

Listed companies in Abu Dhabi witnessed an 18.3% y-o-y increase in total net profits during Q2-2025, reaching $10.3 billion, compared with $8.7 billion in Q2-2024, Kuwait-based Kamco Invest said in latest research report.

In its report entitled “GCC Corporate Earnings Report: Q2-2025,” Kamco Invest said that aggregate net profits also rose by 3.4% y-o-y during 1H-2025, amounting to $19.3 billion as against $16.9 billion in H1–2024.

The Banking sector in Abu Dhabi reported a strong improvement in net profits with aggregate earnings of $3.2 billion in Q2-2025 as against $2.6 billion in Q2-2024, reflecting a y-o-y growth of $592.5 million, or 23.1%.

The Energy sector posted the second-largest net earnings on the exchange in Q2-2025, recording a 1.9% y-o-y increase in total profits to $2.31 billion compared with $2.3 billion during Q2-2024.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector along with the Telecommunication sector were among the other significant industries that achieved y-o-y aggregate earnings growth during Q2-2025, thereby contributing positively to the overall expansion in total exchange-wide profits during the period, the report said.

The Banking sector delivered broad-based earnings growth across all listed banks. First Abu Dhabi Bank led the performance by reporting the largest net profits in Q2-2025 after a 29.4% y-o-y increase, reaching $1.5 billion as against $1.1 billion in Q2- 2024.

In terms of half-year performance, FAB’s net earnings advanced by 26.5% to $2.9 billion compared with $2.3 billion in H1-2024. The bank’s results were mainly driven by higher non-interest income and lower impairments during the quarter.

FAB’s Investment Banking & Markets division recorded a 17% y-o-y revenue increase to $1.7 billion in H1-2025, while both wholesale banking and the personal, business, wealth & privileged client banking group achieved revenue growth of 12% each during the period.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) reported the second-largest net earnings in the banking sector during Q2-2025, at $699.2 million versus $631 million in Q2-2024. ADCB’s profit growth was primarily driven by a 12% increase in net interest income and a 44% rise in non-interest income, the report noted.

Similarly, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) recorded 12.3% y-o-y growth in Q2-2025 net profits to reach $456.5 million compared with $406.5 million in Q2-2024.

Within the Energy sector, Q2-2025 net profits grew by $43.5 million y-o-y to reach $2.31 billion compared with $2.27 billion in Q2-2024, supported by earnings growth in two constituent companies. The total H1-2025 net profits for the Energy sector grew 4.5% y-o-y, reaching $4.6 billion compared with $4.4 billion for the corresponding period last yeare.

ADNOC Drilling also posted a 19% y-o-y increase in earnings, reaching $351 million during the same period. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company reported an 18.2% y-o-y decline in Q2-2025 net profits to $443 million versus $658.3 million in Q2-2024. The decline was led by higher pass-through revenue for transmission and distribution.

Dubai

Net profits of Dubai-listed companies declined by 5.7% y-o-y to $6.5 billion in Q2-2025 compared with $6.9 billion in Q2-2024. The earnings contraction during the quarter was primarily driven by lower aggregate net profits from the banks and capital goods sectors, with these two sectors together accounting for 50.7% of the total profits on the exchange during the quarter.

It is noteworthy that out of the 13 sectors on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), 11 reported y-o-y profit increases during Q2-2025, while the remaining two sectors posted declines. For H1-2025, aggregate net profits increased by 2.4% y-o-y to reach $12.6 billion as against $12.3 billion in H1-2024.

The banking sector’s total net profits dropped 6.4% y-o-y in Q2-2025 to $3.2 billion compared with $3.4 billion in Q2-2024. For H1-2025, profits for the sector decreased by 2.8% y-o-y to $6.4 billion as against $6.6 billion for the corresponding period in 2024.

The decline in sector earnings was mainly attributable to Emirates NBD, which reported a 9% y-o-y decline in net profit of $3.4 billion for H1-2025. The y-o-y decline in quarterly net profits for the bank was mainly led by impairment charge during Q2-2025 compared with a reversal of impairment during Q2-2024.

In addition, higher non-interest expenses also affected the bottom-line performance for the bank. On the other hand, Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) delivered a 15.4% y-o-y increase in net profits, reaching $236.1 million in Q2-2025 versus $204.6 million in Q2-2024. Its performance was underscored by total assets surpassing $40.8 billion for the first time in its history, reflecting momentum and effective strategic execution.