Bahrain Duty Free’s profit in the first half of 2015 reached $13.8m according to Bahrain Duty Free Shop Complex (BDFSC), which announced its financial results yesterday.

For the second quarter, ended June 30 2015, the company achieved a net profit of US$7,624,432 an increase of 70.2% compared to the same quarter last year. BDFSC says that the main contributor to this growth was ‘investment income’.

For the six months of 2015, the company posted a net profit of US$13,805,798 representing a 48.6% growth compared to the same period last year.

Basic earnings per share increased by 49.2% from 7.8 to 11.7 US cents per share. The financial results for 2015 show an increase 5.1% in shareholder equity from US$ 118,674,575 (2014 year-end) to US$ 124,750,008.

Bahrain Duty Free Managing Director Mr. Abdulla Buhindi.

The company reported gross revenues of US$37,123,350 (US$ 36,569,318 in 2014) achieving a 1.5% growth.

Commenting on the results, the Chairman Mr. Farouk Almoayyed, said: “The first six months profits were excellent and complemented the Company’s operational and investment strategies.”

In addition, he said that the Board of Directors had recommended a cash dividend of 20% to the shareholders amounting to 5.3 US cents per share.

Managing Director Mr. Abdulla Buhindi added: “Profits from investments for the half year were US$6,042,520, an increase of 106.3% in the period up from US$2,929,366 last year. The investment portfolio decreased by 2.7% during the period due to the disposal of some investments.”