National Industries profit up 113.4%

Kuwait's National Industries Group, the country's biggest construction materials firm by market value, more than doubled second-quarter net profit to KD98.21 million ($348.3 million), it said on Saturday.

The company's profit in the six months to June 30 was KD158 million, compared with KD74.6 million in the year-earlier period, it said in a statement, without giving quarterly data.

Reuters calculated the quarter, which was up 113.4% on the year earlier, based on previous financial statements.

National Industries made KD46.02 million in the second quarter of last year and KD59.79 million in the first quarter of this year.

Reuters had earlier calculated the rise in quarterly profit as 91% based on profit figures that included minority interest.

Earnings per share were 141 fils in the first half compared with 82 fils in the year-ago period, the company said.

Total assets rose 50% to KD1.8 billion in the first half, up from KD1.2 billion in the year-earlier period.

National Industries has diversified away from its core construction material business by announcing investments in petrochemicals, engineering and metal industries projects.

It said in July it planned to raise $1.5 billion by selling Islamic bonds, or sukuk, to fund future investments in gas, petroleum and petrochemical projects.

Some $375 million worth of bonds would be sold in the first tranche, the lead managers said last week.

National Industries said in April it planned to invest KD200 million in a petrochemical project in Saudi Arabia.

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