Waha Capital swings to profit in Q2 on higher operating income

Waha Capital, which counts Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company as one of its shareholders, swung to a profit in the second quarter on the back of a higher operating income.

Net profit attributable to owners of the company for the period ending June 30 reached Dh267.2 million, compared to a loss of Dh124.3m during the same period last year, the company said in a statement to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade.

“The fact that we were able to achieve one of the highest revenues for a single quarter in our history is a remarkable achievement given the current economic conditions,” Amr AlMenhali, chief executive for Waha Capital, said on Tuesday. “Once again our asset management division was able to outperform its peer group and to position our portfolio to meet whatever challenges may arise and our private investments division moved back into profit.”

Impairments of equity-accounted associates and joint ventures fell 90 per cent year-on-year to Dh10m and loss from equity-accounted associates and joint ventures came down to Dh9.8m from Dh99m last year.

Waha Capital’s asset management business, made a profit of Dh300.1m in the second quarter compared to Dh87.5m during the same period in 2019.

The company's private investment business which invests in a diverse range of sectors including healthcare, fin-tech, energy and financial services, recorded a net profit of Dh3.2m compared to a loss of Dh186.1m in 2019.

During the first half, the company narrowed losses to Dh27.2m, from Dh182.2m reported last year on the back of lower impairments of equity associates and joint ventures.

The Abu Dhabi-based firm is also eyeing investments in a number of US-listed companies operating in healthcare, technology and telecoms with a total investment of $120m (Dh440.7m).

“Our new investment programme, initially targeted in the US, will eventually cover the regional market, and help put us on a strong footing to deliver significantly higher returns moving forward,” Mr AlMenhali said. “We are also marking a new milestone for the company through a number of new initiatives including the launch of an Islamic fund which signals the development of a full shari’a compliant offering in the future”

Waha currently has investments in various companies including Dubai-based FinTech company Channel VAS, Dunia Finance, National Energy Services Reunited and Petronash Holdings, among others. It divested its stake in New York-based aircraft leasing company AerCap last year that generated net cash of Dh933m to the company.

Total assets at the end of June reached Dh9.49 billion, up 2 per cent since the end of 2019.

"We not only strive to grow revenues when times are good, but to protect our investments in times of uncertainty," Waleed Al Muhairi, chairman of Waha Capital, said.

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Started: April 2017

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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?

The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.

The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.

He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.

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