Dubai
Shuaa Capital recorded profits for the third consecutive quarter driven by strong results in real estate asset management and credit businesses.
Net profits for the three months ending September jumped 165 per cent to be at Dh23 million, compared to a net loss of Dh35 million in the same quarter last year, the company said in an emailed statement.
Net profit for the nine months to September stood at Dh60 million, thus beating every previous years’ annual earnings level since 2007.
“We are proud to have completed the initial building blocks required to return Shuaa to sustainable profitability,” Fawad Tariq-Khan, General Manager of Shuaa Capital said in a statement.
The firm’s real estate asset management and credit business lines reported particularly strong performance for the three months ending September, with profits of Dh6.3 million compared to Dh0.7 million in the same period last year, and Dh15.7 million compared to a loss of Dh38.6 million in the same period last year, the company said.
Shuaa said its credit business, comprising Gulf Finance UAE and Gulf Finance Saudi Arabia, have “benefited significantly” from the turnaround strategy, which has helped them swiftly restructure, consolidate and emerge from losses, and will focus on asset-backed lending.
Looking for growth:
“Our operations are now streamlined and we are actively looking for growth in the Middle East and North Africa region through both organic expansion and acquisitions,” Tariq-Khan said.
In February Chairman Jasem Al Seddiqi said he aimed to double Shuaa’s assets under management from Dh1.8 billion, and was actively looking at acquisitions, as it sought to leverage balance sheet and exit some legacy investments and redeploy resources.
