Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments recorded a surge in net profit in the first quarter of this year to AED1.58bn ($430.2m) driven by gains from derivatives income and currency transactions.   

It reported gains in income from financial derivatives of AED1.2bn in the first three months of the year and a AED606.4m boost from foreign exchange transactions, according to the company’s financial statement.

The company also restated its earnings for the first quarter of last year to a loss of AED1.045bn from a previously reported profit of AED177m.

According to its financial statement, Aabar said it had “identified errors in the classification of an investment, arising from the misinterpretation of fundamental facts,” resulting in a decrease of AED1.22bn in the fair value of investments.

Shareholder equity declined by 7.6 per cent to AED11.69bn in the first quarter from AED12.65bn in the same period last year.

In April this year Aabar cancelled a $1.7bn takeover agreement for Dubai-based Arabtec.

In mid-May, Aaabar said its board agreed to sell AED1.5bn of convertible bonds to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), at a price of AED2.50 per share. IPIC owns a 71 per cent share in Aabar.  

Aabar has stakes in Virgin Galactic and German car maker Daimler. In mid-April this year, the company established a real estate subsidiary, Aabar Properties, which will drive the development of its real estate investments.