Shuaa profits hit 10-year high

Shuaa Capital said on Monday that its profits hit a 10-year high with net profit attributable to shareholders surging to Dh25 million as operating income hit Dh45 million.

The asset management and investment banking platform said the better outcome was subsequent to its effective response to the impact of the pandemic and the economic environment.

Shuaa, which just recently divested 20 per cent equity stake in Abu Dhabi based utility Mirfa International Power and Water Company (Mipco) to a leading Japanese group, said its revenues saw an increase to Dh102 million in Q1 2021 compared with Dh72 million in Q1 2020, up 42 per cent year-on-year. The growth was “driven by our recurring business which continues to trend above the average of the last four quarters, despite Q1 traditionally being Shuaa's quietest quarter,” it said.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) generation also remained strong at Dh75 million for Q1 2021 compared with a negative Ebitda of Dh202 million in Q1 2020, up Dh277 million year-on-year, the asset management firm said in a statement.

Jassim Alseddiqi, group chief executive officer of Shuaa Capital, said the company has further solidified its platform and has successfully concluded its merger integration programme.

“Our focus now shifts onto growth and transformation with significant hiring across the platform, new product launches and differentiated value propositions for our clients. With Q1 profits having hit a 10-year high, the landmark transactions and the momentum we are currently seeing across the firm going into Q2 have both been very encouraging and reinforce our commitment to the continued execution of our strategic agenda,” said Alseddiqi.

“The solid underlying performance also saw Shuaa achieve record profits for its asset management business. This was despite a slight decrease in assets under management to $13.9 billion compared with the record levels of $ 14.1 billion reached at the end of 2020, due to the exit of a low margin mandate. Conversely, the company has achieved continued progress on building out the new funds recently launched,” the company said.

Shuaa said it had a strong start to the year with several landmark transactions including Anghami (a leading music streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa) and Pure Harvest Smart Farms (a world-leading sustainable agri-tech business) as it continued focus on execution of strategic agenda, “with enhanced value proposition post-integration and a strong pipeline of new funds and deals driving momentum.”

Shuaa said it has a healthy pipeline of activity and deals across the platform, including some transactions which saw delays in completion in the first quarter of the year. “Looking ahead, Shuaa is poised for growth this year, thanks to the enhanced value proposition post-integration and a healthy pipeline of deals as well as innovative new fund launches that will enhance recurring revenues going forward,” said the statement. — issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com