(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Waha Capital has reported a bumper growth of 224 per cent year-on-year in profit in the January-June period on strong earnings from subsidiary units AerCap Holdings and Dunia Group along with strong earnings from its equity fund.
The profits of Dh349 million in the first half ended on June 30 is higher than an adjusted net profit of Dh107.8 million achieved in the first half of 2014 after taking out net non-recurring adjustments primarily due to the one-off gain that the company recorded that year after unlocking part of the value from its stake in AerCap Holdings. Waha Capital recorded a profit of Dh166.9 million in the second quarter of the year. On the strong earnings Hussain Jasim Al Nowais chairman of Waha Capital said: "Our strategy to invest in some of the fastest growing sectors of the economy is reaping its benefits." Salem Rashid Al Noaimi chief executive officer and managing director of Waha Capital said: "We have focused on growing and diversifying our assets across different sectors with high growth potential and are in the process of finalising our capital market product offering to third-party investors later this year; this will help us further expand our revenue mix. At the same time We are studying new investment opportunities in energy infrastructure healthcare and education both locally and regionally which will add to the quality of our portfolio." Waha Capital continued to benefit from an increase in earnings per share from New York-based AerCap Holdings which reported a first-half net profit of $621 million a 249 percent increase from a year earlier. AerCap executed sale and part-out transactions for 38 aircraft and recorded a gain on disposal of $88.3 million compared to $8.9 million in the corresponding period in 2014. The investment company's stake in the aircraft leasing company increased to 13.6 percent from 12.6 percent at the end of 2014. This followed a decision by AerCap Holdings to buy back $750 million worth of shares from AIG in June which had an accretive effect for other shareholders like Waha Capital. Dunia Finance recorded net income of Dh119.6 million for the first six months of 2015 a 44.7 per cent year-on-year rise as low interest rates continue to bolster consumer demand. The company also expanded its loan book with a customer base of 187000 and achieved 49.3 per cent growth in its loan portfolio versus 30 June 2014. The Capital Markets Division of Waha Capital generated income of Dh138.6 million in the first half and launched equities and fixed income funds that will be offered to third-party investors later this year. Both funds delivered strong performance in the first half of the year with The Waha MENA Equity Fund generating a return of 12.1 percent and The Waha CEEMEA Fixed Income Fund generating a return of 8.5 percent. Waha Capital's portfolio consists of direct investments across a number of sectors which include aircraft leasing healthcare consumer finance offshore oil & gas services infrastructure and industrial real estate. -
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