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29 March 2024

Waha Capital records nine-month net profit of Dh231 million

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By Staff

Waha Capital, a leading investment company based in Abu Dhabi, reported a net profit of Dh230.8 million for the first nine months of 2013, compared to Dh31.0 million recorded a year earlier.

For the third quarter, the company recorded a net profit of Dh107.1 million, an increase of 289 per cent on the same period of 2012.

The growth in net profit was driven by strong performances in key direct investments, including New York-listed aircraft leasing company AerCap and UAE consumer finance company Dunia Finance.

Income from equity-accounted investees in the third quarter increased to Dh84.9 million up from Dh49.5 million in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, Chairman of Waha Capital, said: “We remain focused on further increasing long-term shareholder value, through a concentrated strategy of investing directly in high potential sectors in the regional economies, while also developing a portfolio of liquid assets”.

Commenting on the company’s performance and strategy, Salem Rashid Al Noaimi, CEO and Managing Director, said: “Our portfolio companies, and especially AerCap, are delivering excellent returns, justifying our long-standing faith in our investments. Thanks to this solid platform, Waha Capital is now in a strong position to make further investments such as our recent acquisition of Anglo Arabian Healthcare, as well as deploying additional capital in investee companies.”

He added, “Waha Capital has also been developing its capital markets business to invest in a balanced portfolio of securities, in order to enhance liquidity and diversification in our investment mix.”

Other key portfolio companies have seen positive developments to date this year:

AerCap continues to position itself for long-term growth, particularly in emerging markets, and to make significant enhancements to the quality of its fleet. For example, AerCap has signed this year new lease agreements for 10 aircraft.

The average term of lease agreements contracted during the past 12 months was 165 months for new aircraft and 57 months for used aircraft.

As of September 30, 2013, AerCap's portfolio consisted of 371 aircraft that were either owned, managed, or under contract to purchase. The average age of the owned fleet as of September 30, 2013 was 5.4 years and the average remaining contracted lease term was 6.7 years.

Meanwhile, Stanford Marine Group (SMG) – Waha Capital’s investment in the maritime space - has continued to benefit from strong demand for offshore oil and gas support vessels across its core GCC and Southeast Asian markets. This year the company has acquired 5 vessels, delivered 9 ships and undertook repair and maintenance work on 499 ships.

During this period, SMG had a utilization rate of 88.5 per cent on its vessels and achieved a margin of 24.9 per cent on EBITDA of Dh156 million.

Dunia Finance has expanded its loan book at a healthy rate this year, with the company gaining circa 18,100 new customers and achieving over 24 per cent growth in its loan portfolio. In the first nine months of the year, the company saw a 34 per cent rise in net interest income from a year earlier, with net profit rising by 85 per cent.

Separately, Waha Capital’s industrial real estate development, ALMARKAZ, has seen strong leasing demand following completion of the first phase of construction in December 2012. The project continues to receive increasing interest from manufacturing and logistics businesses attracted by the development’s Grade A industrial facility.

The initial development of small industrial units totalling 90,000m2 of gross floor area has been completed, with circa 55 per cent of the space pre-leased and negotiations underway with several companies to occupy a number of warehousing units in the coming months.

The results were announced following a Board meeting in Abu Dhabi chaired by His Excellency Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, Chairman of Waha Capital.