DUBAI, May 6 (Reuters) - International Holding Company (IHC), Abu Dhabi's largest listed company, said on Monday it would buy back up to 5 billion dirhams ($1.36 billion) of its shares as it reported that first-quarter profit almost doubled.
Net profit for the first three months of the year rose to 8.02 billion dirhams from 4.27 billion a year earlier, while revenue grew to 19.29 billion from 15.74 billion, driven by strong performances in core divisions including real estate and construction, and technology.
"The rationale behind this decision is driven by IHC's robust financial standing, characterized by significant cash flow and a strong balance sheet," the company said about the share buyback in a statement.
IHC is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' national security adviser and a brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Formerly known as International Fish Farming Holding, IHC went from an obscure seafood producer and distributor and real estate investor and developer to a major conglomerate with a market capitalisation that has ballooned since 2020 to around $238.5 billion, more than double the size of global alternative asset manager BlackRock.
Shares in the firm are down 3.5% to 399.5 dirhams a piece since the start of the year but still significantly up since its listing on the Abu Dhabi bourse in 2005.
In January, it said it had set up a new holding company called 2PointZero holding a $27 billion portfolio across industries from asset management to mining.
"With the introduction of a new flagship entity, we are optimistic about the future as we continue to diversify our portfolio and penetrate new markets and regions, aiming to maximize our impact," CEO Syed Basar Shueb was quoted as saying in the statement on Monday.
($1 = 3.6725 UAE dirham) (Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Hadeel Al Sayegh, editing by Susan Fenton, Kirsten Donovan)
