Amanat swings to third-quarter loss as expenses climb and revenue plunges

The health care and education investor expects a better fourth quarter

“Looking ahead, we are confident that Amanat is well placed to leverage its expertise and further strengthen its position as the partner of choice,” said Shamsheer Vayalil, vice chairman of Amanat. Reem Mohammed / The National

Amanat Holdings, the UAE investor in health care and education, swung to a third-quarter loss as revenue fell and expenses ballooned.

Net profit attributable to equity holders recorded a Dh3.6 million loss compared with a Dh14.9m net profit a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are listed.

Revenue halved to Dh11.5m from Dh22m a year earlier as income on deposits plunged to Dh1.6m from Dh14.7m a year earlier. Total operating expenses more than doubled to Dh25.9m from Dh11.8m 12 months ago due to an increase in employee related costs and general and administrative expenses.

“Given revenue recognition policy, the summer season that falls in the third quarter is typically slow and typically unwinds during the fourth quarter, as such revenues will return to normalised levels in the fall academic semester which coincides with Q4 2018,” the company said.

“This has resulted in Amanat consolidating the Middlesex Dubai losses in its Q3 2018 financials as a one-off.”

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With the acquisition of Middlesex Dubai and the purchase of a 69.36 per cent in a hospital in Bahrain, the company has deployed 79 per cent of its Dh2.5 billion paid-up capital. Amanat has made four acquisitions this year, bringing its portfolio of assets to seven.

“Amanat has continued to pursue an active approach whether be in its deployment or in value creation during the third quarter of 2018 in an aim to achieve growth and sustainable value to its shareholders,” said Hamad Al Shamsi, chairman of Amanat.

Amanat, which has traditionally invested in the top two regional economies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said in April it planned to expand its footprint beyond the Arabian Gulf.

“We have continued to make excellent progress in Q3, accelerating our deployment whilst continuing to identify assets which offer great opportunities to create value for our shareholders,” said Shamsheer Vayalil, managing director and vice chairman of Amanat.

“Looking ahead, we are confident that Amanat is well placed to leverage its expertise and further strengthen its position as the partner of choice.”