Dubai: Shuaa Capital posted a net loss of Dh190.3 million in 2015 compared to a net profit of Dh25.8 million in 2014.

Revenues for the full year stood at Dh178.2 million at year end 2015 compared to Dh213.4 million in the same period in 2014.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, the company reported revenues of Dh40.1 million, representing a 58 per cent increase compared to Dh25.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, and a loss of Dh161.8 million compared to Dh14.8 million loss in the fourth quarter of f2014.

“The difficult market conditions driven by the decline in oil prices, global economic instability and continued political uncertainty in the region witnessed during the course of 2015 created a challenging operating environment for Shuaa’s business units, particularly in the second half of the year,” said Abdul Rahman Hareb Rashed Al Hareb, Chairman of Shuaa Capital.

The majority of the loss recorded in 2015 is attributable to Gulf Finance, the SME lending business, which set aside provisions of Dh154.6 million against bad loans. Despite this, the business increased full year revenues by 21 per cent to Dh159.7 million compared to Dh131.5 million in 2014.

Strong liquidity position

Despite volatile market conditions in 2015, Shuaa maintained a solid balance sheet and total assets at year-end stood at Dh1.6 billion. The Group’s liquidity position remains strong with Dh263 million in cash. Liabilities increased to Dh639 million from Dh459 million in 2014, principally due to additional financing support for the SME lending business. As of 31 December 2015, net assets stood at Dh961 million while the leverage ratio was 0.47 at year-end.

Rigorous cost control measures continue to be a strategic priority. Operating expenses remained stable at Dh164.3 million compared to Dh165.1 million in 2014, while general and administrative expenses for the year reduced by 9 per cent.

“We have during the course of 2015 closely monitored market developments and reassessed our positioning accordingly, and we are currently working on a number of initiatives that we are confident will enhance Shuaa’s performance in 2016,” said Al Hareb.