Amanat’s full-year profit slides amid Covid-19 pandemic

The company plans to invest in businesses with strong earnings potential

Amanat has investments across education, health care and property sectors. Courtesy Amanat

Amanat Holdings, the Dubai-listed investment firm that specialises in healthcare and education, reported an 86 per cent drop in full-year net profit, despite a rise in revenue.

Net profit for the period ending December 31, 2020, declined to Dh8.3 million, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. Revenue rose 1 per cent year-on-year to Dh143.5m.

The company, which owns a number of schools and hospitals, did not provide details on why its profit declined last year.

“2020 was an exceptional year with Covid-19 impacting economic sectors on a national and global level, too,” Hamad Al Shamsi, Amanat’s chairman said.

“Despite the challenges, both Amanat and its portfolio companies managed to conclude the year with a satisfactory result from operations. Amanat’s financial strength and capital structure managed to put us in a favourable position to navigate the headwinds.”

Amanat has investments across the education, health care and property sectors. Its education portfolio includes schools operator Taaleem, Abu Dhabi University Holding and Middlesex University Dubai. It also owns the property assets of the North London Collegiate School in Dubai.

Amanat’s healthcare platform includes International Medical Center (IMC), a 300-bed multi-disciplinary hospital based in Jeddah, Sukoon, a provider of acute extended care, critical care and home care medical services and the Royal Hospital for Women and Children in Bahrain.

The company’s total assets fell 2 per cent to Dh2.71 billion.

“Looking ahead, we have a clear strategic roadmap, and the board of directors have identified the key pillars to grow our earnings and drive Amanat to its next phase of growth,” Mr Al Shamsi said.

“These pillars include strategic objectives to improve our portfolios’ performance and profitability, optimise our capital structure further and accelerate investments in high-yielding assets.”

The company will also focus on investing in businesses with “strong earnings potential that are leading the transformation of the healthcare and education sectors," he added.

Last year, Amanat invested Dh18.4m in US education technology company BEGiN during a Series C financing round.