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Waha Capital to pay 10% cash dividend

Shareholders of Waha Capital approved a cash dividend of ten per cent and bonus shares of 2.5 per cent at the company’s annual general meeting.

Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, chairman of Waha Capital addressing shareholders, the investment company had performed well in 2013, recording a 43 per cent rise in net profit to Dh306.4 million.

The value of Waha Capital’s assets increased 18 per cent as of 31 December 2013 to reach Dh5.24 billion, up from Dh4.44 billion a year earlier.

Shareholder equity increased by 8.4 per cent in 2013 to reach Dh2.53 billion.

The chairman said that the net profit achieved in 2013 did not include gains from AerCap’s proposed acquisition of International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) from American International Group (AIG), which is expected to close in the second quarter of the current year. The acquisition would make Aercap the leading global franchise in the aircraft leasing industry.

Waha Capital currently owns 26.3 per cent of AerCap, and although its shareholding will be diluted to approximately 14 per cent once that acquisition closes, the company expects to gain immediate shareholder value through the dramatic increase of scale and earnings at Aercap.

Commenting on the Aercap-ILFC transaction, Al Nowais said: “We have been a long-term partner of AerCap and as a key investor we are supportive of this transaction which we expect to be value-enhancing for AerCap’s existing shareholders and indirectly for our own shareholders. The transaction further enhances AerCap’s strong growth prospects over the coming years.”

In June of 2013, Waha Capital made its first investment in the healthcare sector through the acquisition of Anglo Arabian Healthcare Group (AAH).

— haseeb@khaleejtimes.com