IHC Profit Surges as State-Backed Projects Expand

International Holding Company reported net profit attributable to owners of nearly Dh21.2 billion ($5.77 billion) for the first nine months of 2026, a 109 per cent year-on-year increase. The company disclosed the figures in a Thursday filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade. Investment income rose nearly 215 per cent to Dh24.2 billion.

The figures show capital moving through a vast corporate apparatus, while the filing offers no account of how the projects affect workers or communities. IHC reported profits, revenues and assets; it did not identify who, beyond the owners, benefits from the expansion on the ground.

A corporate apparatus in motion

Revenue rose by more than a third to about Dh100.5 billion. Real estate and construction contributed more than Dh33.4 billion, while marine and dredging added Dh22.4 billion as the group continued projects in regional and international markets. Energy and mining revenue nearly quadrupled to Dh19.3 billion. Hospitality and leisure nearly doubled to Dh7.8 billion.

Financial services added Dh4.4 billion, food Dh5.1 billion and technology Dh2.9 billion. Seven of the company’s eight business segments recorded double-digit revenue growth. The figures chart the reach of a company operating across sectors, but say nothing about the people whose lives may be shaped by those projects.

IHC chief executive Syed Shueb said, “The company's revenue growth reflects the increasing scale of our operating businesses and the continued expansion of IHC's international investment platform.” He also said the company would focus on “maintaining financial discipline and deploying capital selectively.” The statement describes the priorities of capital deployment; it gives no comparable detail about public oversight or community participation.

Deals with governments, growth for owners

In September, IHC and India's Adani Group signed an initial agreement with the government of the Indian state of Odisha to invest about 2.1 trillion rupees ($25 billion) in 14 projects. The announcement places a government alongside two corporate groups in a major investment agreement. The base account doesn't specify the projects’ terms or describe how residents will be involved in decisions about them.

Around the same time, IHC said it was in the process of acquiring an 80 per cent stake in Marlan Holding as it sought to expand into the space sector. Its portfolio has grown through acquisitions and expansion in the UAE and overseas. The company has a market capitalisation of more than Dh722 billion and more than 1,300 subsidiaries across technology, infrastructure, financial services and consumer sectors.

Total assets rose more than 13 per cent to Dh484.5 billion by the end of September. IHC shares settled nearly 2 per cent higher at Dh329.20 on Thursday. Those are precise measures of corporate scale and market response. The account supplies no corresponding measure of the public consequences of that scale.

IHC also announced Fount Trust as its ultimate owner above Royal Group Holding following an earlier restructuring. The company said the change didn't alter its ultimate beneficial ownership, operations, strategy or business activities. For the third quarter, net profit fell about 30 per cent annually to Dh3.25 billion even as revenue climbed nearly 31 per cent to Dh35.6 billion. The company's own results show the uneven movement of profit; its statement calls the businesses resilient and their contribution across markets growing.