Abu Dhabi-based holding company Multiply Group reported a net profit excluding fair value changes of Dh319 million for Q2 2024, a 49% increase compared to Dh214 million in Q2 2023. This growth was driven by consolidating new acquisitions as part of the company’s vertical building strategy. The reported net profit of Dh992 million includes Dh673 million in unrealised fair value gains from the public investment portfolio.
Group revenue for Q2 2024 increased by 60% year-on-year to Dh442 million, supported by organic growth across all verticals and the consolidation of Media 247, BackLite Media and The Grooming Company Holding. The blended gross profit margin stood at 43.5%, reflecting a shift in revenue mix with a higher contribution from the media vertical, which accounted for 33% of Q2 2024 revenue compared to 8% in Q2 2023. Investment and other income, including dividend income, amounted to Dh218 million.
The balance sheet remains strong, with a cash balance of Dh1.62 billion and up to Dh5 billion available for new investments in vertical building. Multiply Group’s efficiency programme, launched in Q2 2024, has begun to yield results, achieving over Dh5 million in efficiency gains, representing over 10% of the Group’s Dh45 million run-rate target.
According to the stock market filing, the Group has implemented several cost-related initiatives, including savings in procurement, consolidating duplicated roles and restructuring to eliminate business layers. On the revenue side, Multiply Group has increased its wallet share in media by leveraging its presence across three dominant out-of-home (OOH) brands in the UAE. It has also increased capacity across its media assets and reduced customer churn in brands such as Beauty. Digital transformation has made the Group more efficient by automating backend processes, launching new revenue sources focusing on programmatic media and modernising technology infrastructure for better decision-making. The Group has also introduced new online portals and services, reduced cash transactions, and gathered insights into customer spending behaviours.
Multiply+
Multiply Group’s public market portfolio, under Multiply+, closed the quarter with a valuation of Dh29 billion, compared to an initial investment of Dh15 billion. Despite market fluctuations affecting the fair value of some assets, the portfolio’s performance remains strong, with a positive outlook for long-term potential from targeted investments. In its core operational portfolio, the Group focuses on driving synergies and integration among businesses within each vertical, emphasising accelerating digital transformation and operational efficiencies.
In June 2024, Omorfia Group, Multiply Group’s 51% owned beauty anchor, acquired 100% of The Grooming Company Holding (TGCH), a premier provider of salon and beauty services in the UAE. This acquisition expands Omorfia’s portfolio, bringing its combined network to 132 owned salons across five geographies. Earlier in the year, Multiply Group consolidated 100% of BackLite Media, a digital out-of-home advertising company with assets in key locations in the UAE, to enhance its footprint in the growing out-of-home advertising space.
