Waha Capital posted a 3.5 per cent dip in first-quarter net profit as costs increased amid a rise in income.
The Abu Dhabi-listed company’s profit in the three months ending March 31 fell to Dh175.8 million from Dh182.2m in the year-earlier period, the company said. Total income rose 17.6 per cent year-on-year to Dh333.3m from Dh283.5m. Total expenses rose 55 per cent to Dh157.2m as general and administrative expenses and finance costs all rose during the quarter.
“Waha Capital has now streamlined its divisional structure to focus on enhancing its recurrent revenue streams while also investing in and accelerating the growth of new lines of fee-generating business,” said the chief executive Salem Al Noaimi.
“In terms of the remaining year ahead, current volatile market conditions are generating attractive valuations for potential investment opportunities whilst also providing unique opportunities for our private equity team to deploy capital in small to mid-cap sectors across the GCC and North Africa.”
Waha Capital also increased its stake in the New York-listed airline leasing company AerCap Holding to a 15.8 per cent, up from 12.6 per cent a year ago. During the first quarter, Waha acquired 3.88 million additional shares in AerCap Holdings for Dh519.2m.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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