Dubai: Shuaa Capital said on Tuesday it proposes to give a cash dividend — its first in a decade — of Dh0.02 for the first half of 2018, in addition to seeking approval for a 10 per cent share buy-back after posting a strong set of results.
Shuaa reported a 21 per cent increase in second-quarter net profit despite flat revenues.
Earnings for the second quarter to June came in at Dh14.6 million, compared to Dh12.1 million in the same period last year. Revenues remained flat at Dh30.8 million during the reporting period.
“Shareholder returns are key for the board and management at Shuaa and we remain confident Shuaa can continue on its path to sustained profitability, expanding its platform throughout the region,” Fawad Tariq-Khan, chief executive officer of Shuaa Capital, said in a statement.
Net profit from the asset management business doubled along with revenues, rising to Dh4.6 million in the second quarter to June compared to Dh1.3 million. Revenues came in at Dh10.5 million.
Meanwhile, the company’s unit Gulf Finance Corporation, repaid a Dh450 million syndicated bank facility that it raised from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in 2015.
Active
“We have been very active during the first half in building a platform for the future,” Tariq-Khan said. “Our Egypt and Saudi businesses in particular have achieved a strong growth trajectory, and more importantly, given our strong liquidity position and recent recoveries, we are now in a position to look at making dividend distributions to our shareholders for the first time in ten year.”
In April, Shuaa announced the completion of its acquisition of Integrated Securities (IS) and Integrated Capital (IC), in addition to confirming plans to acquire publicly listed Amwal International Investment Company in Kuwait.
As of June 2018, Shuaa’s total assets stood at Dh1.6 billion, with the net asset component at Dh884 million.
