Amlak Finance posts 31pc increase in first half profit

Amlak, the largest publicly listed Islamic Home Finance Company offering Shariah solutions, and a pioneer of home finance in the UAE, announcing the preliminary results for the second quarter, which ended 30th June 2007, said recent restructuring of funding sources combined with the renewed focus on Amlak's core business has increased the ability of the company to generate revenue by enabling it to react quickly to market variables such as volume or pricing requirements.

"These results show a significant leap in return on assets and return on equity. This delivers on Amlak's promise to concentrate on maximising returns to its shareholders," the company said in a statement.

Nasser Al Shaikh, Chairman, Amlak Finance, said a flexible funding structure provided liquidity, minimised cost of fund, and made the company more profitable and flexible. "As previously announced this will include an asset backed securitisation in the coming months, which will be internationally rated."

Strategic relationships with international and local market leaders also allowed Amlak to utilise financial structures which maximise liquidity and deliver tangible results," he said.

Al Shaikh said the results showed that Amlak's commitment to re-energising the development of Amlak Finance has achieved its primary goals in this first stage — posting dramatic increases in profit and revenue. "Built on strong foundations, the team has some of the best talent in the industry, which has delivered the best quarterly results in the company's history since its inception in 2000. We have spoken in the past about our commitment to core business and differentiation in the market, as well as our commitment to turn around our Q1 performance, and today's announcement shows that we have delivered on these promises. However these are long term goals, and we have many more innovative product offerings and financial tools and structures that we are investigating to ensure that we continue this strong growth."

Arif Alharmi, CEO of Amlak Finance PJSC, added: "Amlak Finance is known as a pioneer in the Islamic Home Finance industry, and we are committed to retaining this role; identifying the new areas for growth in the industry, whether it be international expansion, new financial solutions, strategic tie ups with leading developers or innovative products targeted at our core audience, the consumer."