Dubai Financial Market Company today announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2017, recording a net profit of AED173.3 million, a 1% decrease from AED175 million in the same period of 2016.

Net profit of Q 3of 2017 decreased 22 percent to AED27.7 million, compared to AED35.4 million in the corresponding of 2016.

Total revenue reached to AED313.3 million during the nine months period ended September 30, 2017, (including net exceptional income of AED 5.3 million), compared to AED313.4 million during the corresponding period of 2016. The revenue comprised AED236.9 million of operating income and AED76.4 million of investment returns. Company expenses reached AED 140 million by the end of September 2017 compared to AED 138.5 million in the same period of 2016. During the third quarter of 2017, Company’s revenue reached AED 74 million compared to AED 81.1 million in the third quarter of 2016, whilst expenses amounted to AED 46.3 million in the same period compared to AED 45.7 million.

It is noteworthy that the total value of trading on DFM decreased by 5 percent to AED86.5 billion during the first nine months of this year compared to AED91 billion in the same period last year. The daily average of trading value decreased with a similar percentage to AED463 million compared to AED488 million during the same period of 2016. During the third quarter of this year, trading value decreased 23 percent to AED16.7 billion compared to AED 21.7 billion in the same period of 2016. Trading commission is the main revenue stream for DFM Company.

Essa Kazim, Chairman of Dubai Financial Market said, "The DFM started the year with a strong note, with a 19 percent increase in its trade value during the first quarter, however, the market activity has slowed down during the second and third quarters, affecting the Company’s revenues and profits. We look forward to see further momentum during the coming period propelled by the strong, competitive and globally reputable national economy as well as DFM’s various initiatives."

"We are focusing our efforts on diversifying the product range and introducing new services in line with international best practices, enabling investors to actively and efficiently participate on the market. As part of DFM’s strategy 2021, we have launched numerous initiatives including; the ETF trading platform and the liquidity provision and market making service, which currently includes two members providing the service to three listed companies. Moreover, we plan to launch other services for instance; the regulated short selling and the futures trading platform in addition to anticipating new IPOs such as Emaar property development unit and we believe that all these developments will collectively provide us with the a solid foundation for stronger trading activity," he added.