Net profits for companies listed on the Dubai Stock Exchange surged by 30.9% year-on-year to $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2024, up from $5.1 billion in Q2 2023. This growth significantly outpaces the 5.7% increase in net profits across GCC-listed corporates. Dubai recorded the second-highest year-on-year profit growth (after Bahrain) in Q2 2024, primarily due to accounting adjustments and restructuring by DSI. The earnings surge was largely driven by Dubai-based banks, capital goods, and telecom companies, which together accounted for 83.1% of the total earnings in the quarter.
Junaid Ansari, Head of Investment Strategy & Research at Kamco, noted that out of the 13 sectors on the Dubai Financial Market, seven saw a year-on-year increase in profits during Q2 2024, while the remaining six, including insurance and diversified financial sectors, experienced declines. In the first half of 2024, net profits rose by 20% year-on-year to $12.1 billion, compared to $10 billion in the first half of 2023. The banking sector's net profits increased by 12% year-on-year in Q2 2024 to $3.3 billion, up from $2.9 billion in Q2 2023, and by 13.9% in the first half to $6.5 billion, up from $5.7 billion in 1H-2023.
The banking sector's earnings growth was primarily led by Emirates NBD, which posted a record H1 profit of Dh13.8 billion, driven by a 13.6% year-on-year profit growth in Q2 2024. The bank's Q2 2024 profits reached $1.9 billion, compared with $1.7 billion in the same period of 2023, boosted by increased lending and significant impaired loan recoveries. Emirates Islamic Bank also reported its highest-ever half-year profit, reaching Dh1.7 billion in 1H-2024. Aggregate profits for the capital goods sector soared nearly 11-fold in Q2 2024 to $1.2 billion, up from $101.5 million in Q2 2023, mainly due to Drake and Scull's $1.0 billion net profit, marking its first positive earnings in over six years following debt restructuring.
Total net earnings for Dubai-listed real estate stocks increased by 29% year-on-year in Q2 2024 to $1.1 billion, up from $859.2 million in Q2 2023, with all constituent companies reporting year-on-year profit growth. First-half net earnings for the sector grew by 11.9% year-on-year to $2.4 billion, compared to $2.1 billion in 1H-2023. Emaar Properties' robust performance was the key driver for the sector's strong showing, with Q2 2024 net profits rising by 39% year-on-year to $658.7 million and first-half profits increasing by 8.0% to $1.5 billion.
Listed companies in Abu Dhabi saw a 4.7% year-on-year increase in total net profits in Q2 2024 to $8.3 billion, up from $7.9 billion in Q2 2023. However, total net profits fell by 2.2% year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to $16.2 billion, down from $16.5 billion in the first half of 2023. Combined net profits for companies listed on GCC exchanges grew by 5.7% year-on-year in Q2 2024, driven by broad-based growth across most markets, except Oman. The quarter-on-quarter growth was 8.1%, with total net profits rising for the second consecutive quarter to $60.7 billion in Q2 2024, up from $56.2 billion in Q1-2024 and $57.4 billion in Q2 2023.
