Earnings are in from Empower, Rak Ceramics, Etihad Energy, Sobha, Aramex, Space42, and Abu Dhabi Aviation

Dubai's continued cooling demand lifts Empower's 1H

Empower’s revenues dipped to AED 888.8 mn in 2Q 2026, down from AED 913.5 mn the year before, according to its financials (pdf). Its bottom line for the period ticked up to AED 259.4 mn, from AED 257.8 mn the year before, on the back of lower finance costs.

Strong demand for district cooling from Dubai's expanding real estate boosted its 1H net income 16.2% y-o-y to AED 467.9 mn, while revenue rose 4.5% to AED 1.5 bn, according to its latest earnings release (pdf).

Operational expansion led bottom-line growth: The Dubai district cooling provider signed 61 new contracts in 1H, adding 73.4k refrigeration tons (RT) and lifting total contracted capacity to over 2 mn. Connected capacity reached 1.7 mn RT after adding more than 51k RT, while the number of buildings served increased to nearly 1.8k, on the back of sustained demand from developers and building owners.

UAE, Bangladesh demand bolsters RAK Ceramics’ 2Q

European export disruptions and freight costs hit revenue and 1H growth momentum for RAK Ceramics. Net income edged up 2.9% y-o-y in 2Q 2026 to AED 68.3 mn, even as revenues slipped 0.5% to AED 822.8 mn, according to its earnings release (pdf) and earnings presentation (pdf). 1H told a bleaker story, as net income fell 7.6% y-o-y to AED 106.5 mn, with revenues sliding 1.2% to AED 1.6 bn.

Behind the dip: The regional war and subsequent logistical disruption and uptick in freight costs led to a dip in export volumes, and a dip in tourism numbers to the UAE led to a slowdown in orders from hospitality players. Going forward, constrained imports still support market share gains in the UAE, even as regional tensions continue pressuring costs.

Some markets proved more resilient: UAE revenue rose 22.7% y-o-y to AED 298.2 mn on sustained real estate and construction activity, while Bangladesh revenue climbed 20.7% y-o-y to AED 59.0 mn on robust domestic demand. However, revenue from Europe was down 35.7% y-o-y.

Dividends: The board proposed an interim dividend distribution of AED 99.4 mn, or 10 fils per share, for 1H.

Etihad Energy’s income skyrockets as storage wagers pay off

Etihad Energy Holding felt the upside of its midstream transformation in 2Q as oil storage integration boosted its top and bottom lines, according to a press release (pdf). Net income jumped 2.6k% y-o-y in 2Q 2026 to AED 19.8 mn, compared to a loss of AED 807k in 2Q 2025, while revenue jumped 63.6% to AED 109.8 mn, according to its earnings financials (pdf). For 1H 2026, net income rose 277.3% y-o-y to AED 30.7 mn, with revenues climbing 47.7% to AED 204.4 mn, as the upside of its Brooge acquisition last year filtered through.

Next plans: Etihad Energy Holding moved into the downstream business in June, planning to spend USD 300-350 mn developing a 15k bbl / d refinery in Fujairah. Management is channeling capital into its Phase III storage expansion for the project — which will add 1.09 mn cbm to double total capacity — while securing long-term binding off-take agreements with lenders and clients.

Abu Dhabi offsets Sobha’s Dubai slowdown in 1H

Market diversification allowed Sobha Realty to offset the effects of a softer UAE property market in 1H with net income down 8% y-o-y to AED 1.8 bn, and revenue slipping 8.9% y-o-y to AED 6.6 bn, according to its latest financials (pdf).

Total sales fell 48.4% y-o-y to AED 8.1 bn in 1H while Dubai primary sales dropped 13% y-o-y to AED 157 mn. However, activity in Abu Dhabi helped to offset the slowdown. Sobha expanded beyond Dubai in 2Q with the launch of Sobha City, its first AED 40 bn master-planned community in Abu Dhabi, with primary residential sales surging 239% y-o-y in the emirate.

The pipeline: The company launched more than 1.9k units across the UAE and delivered over 1.3k during 1H. It expects to hand over another 5.4k units by 2H. Sobha ended the period with a revenue backlog of about AED 29 bn across a pipeline of more than 41.5k units.

Freight forwarding carries Aramex to a record quarter

Record freight forwarding revenue and rerouting pushed Aramex’s 2Q 2026 revenue up 22% y-o-y to AED 1.8 bn — the highest quarterly figure the firm has recorded, according to its earnings release. Meanwhile, its net income swung to AED 47.4 mn from AED 9.3 mn a year prior.

Regional disruption drove the freight forwarding surge: The unit posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue as Aramex rerouted cargo via new Europe-Middle East land routes and added air and sea charter capacity to keep freight moving — while the rest of the network helped balance the business, with domestic express growing and international express volumes stabilizing after several quarters of decline.

The half-year read: 1H revenue rose 12% y-o-y to AED 3.4 bn, while net income reached AED 64.4 mn — up from a reported AED 7.9 mn a year earlier, or a normalized AED 33.4 mn once one-off items are excluded.

Higher costs clip Space42's 1H income

Space42's revenues jumped 29.2% y-o-y to nearly USD 144 mn in 2Q, according to its financials (pdf). Net income attributable to shareholders dipped to USD 13.6 mn, down from USD 15.4 mn the year before on the back of higher finance costs. For 1H, net earnings dropped 51.1% y-o-y to USD 18.3 mn, despite revenue climbing 14.6% to USD 259.5 mn, due to higher costs and operating expenses.

Space Services revenue climbed 15% y-o-y as Thuraya-4 entered commercial operations, while Smart Solutions revenue grew 14% to USD 35 mn on stronger demand for geospatial intelligence and sovereign Earth observation capabilities, according to its latest financial presentation (pdf). Space42's contracted revenue backlog stood at USD 6.3 bn at the end of 1H.

MRO demand powers Abu Dhabi Aviation’s 1H results

Higher MRO activity lifted Abu Dhabi Aviation’s earnings in 1H 2026. The group’s net income rose 6.6% y-o-y to AED 420.6 mn, according to its financial release (pdf). The firm’s revenue also climbed 28.3% y-o-y to AED 4.7 bn.

Behind the numbers: MRO revenue grew 30.6% and accounted for nearly 90% of group revenue, driven by sustained fleet-support demand at GAL and a pickup in AMMROC's contracted programs as they moved into full execution. General Aviation revenue also rose 7.6% to AED 509.9 mn, supported by stronger cargo operations at Maximus Air.

The caveat: Reported earnings included a one-off settlement tied to an AMMROC legacy contract, which contributed AED 364 mn to revenue and AED 102 mn to net income, nearly a quarter of the total. Excluding it, underlying earnings were below the year-earlier period due to a bigger share of contracted MRO work, lower contributions from equity-accounted investees, and higher depreciation following fleet and facility investments.