Bahrain-based asset manager Investcorp reported a 17 per cent decline in net income in the first half of its financial year to December 31, but its assets under management increased despite a subdued global economy and a rise in geopolitical tensions.
Net profit for the six-month period dropped to $48 million (Dh176m), the company said in a statement to the Bahrain Bourse, where its shares trade.
Net income, excluding fair value change of legacy investments at $59m, was 2 per cent higher year on year.
Total comprehensive income for the period declined 18 per cent to $46m. Investcorp’s earnings per ordinary share dropped 12 per cent to $0.65.
The company, which counts Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, said assets under management increased by $3 billion to $31.1bn during the reporting period.
Its strategic and financial objectives, including reaching assets under management of $50bn over the medium term, “are increasingly translating into a more resilient business and financial model,” the company noted.
Fee income of $172m rose 15 per cent year-on-year, driven by a surge in asset management and deal fees.
“[The] results reinforce our confidence in Investcorp’s organic and inorganic growth strategy,” Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp, said.
“The increase in AUM during the period was largely attributable to organic initiatives, demonstrating strong global demand for our offerings with investors seeking increased exposure to alternative assets.”
The company entered the second half of its fiscal year facing increasing geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds, Mr Alardhi said.
However, backed by a diversified business and the strength of its balance sheet, Investcorp remains confident in its ability to achieve growth over time, he said.
Despite a weaker economic backdrop, Investcorp invested $1.9bn in the first half of the financial year, compared with $1.2bn achieved in the same period a year earlier.
It further increased the globalisation of its distribution platform, with fundraising outside of the Gulf climbing to $1.6bn out of total fundraising of $2.6bn during the period.
The company, which in September last year voluntarily relinquished its wholesale banking licence to the Central Bank of Bahrain, secured $130m in anchor commitments to focus on direct lending for projects in India.
The funding initiative will focus on affordable and mid-market housing segments in the top seven cities in India, where banks remain weak and the country faces a credit crunch that has crimped growth.
In November, the company closed a Dh165.2m funding transaction for Nephrocare Health Services, which runs a network of dialysis centres across India.
In the same month, Investcorp also bought a portfolio of 126 industrial properties in the United States for $800m.
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis