Finance House declares dividend

Finance House, an Abu Dhabi headquartered finance company, yesterday announced 50 per cent cash dividend and 25 per cent stock dividend.

The company said its net profit reached Dh112.4 million for 2009 compared with net profit of Dh248.8m for the previous year, a drop of nearly 55 per cent. Its total assets grew to Dh2.72 billion, an increase of 12 per cent over the previous year figure of Dh2.42bn. Customer deposits increased 41 per cent over the previous year to reach Dh1.5bn.

Shareholder equity stood at Dh639.6m after distributing a dividend of Dh200m to shareholders in 2009. The loans and advances portfolio, on the other hand, held at a flat Dh1.14bn. The performance of the company's investments has been satisfactory, despite the increased volatility in capital markets.

Mohammed Alqubaisi, Chairman of Finance House, said: "Our 2009 performance shows the resilience of our robust business model. Our policy of growth with restraint during the economic boom paid off. Our conservative approach to liquidity management through the financial crisis helped us weather the turbulence. Most important, the increase in our customer deposits is a vote of confidence by our customer base."

Alqubaisi said that the company has the necessary mechanisms and structures in place to identify profitable opportunities, to continue managing risks well and to maximise returns to its shareholders.

Alqubaisi said last week that the company will raise Dh500m this year from local and foreign banks to extend financing to small and medium enterprises in the UAE. The company also opened an office in Sharjah last week.

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