Waha Capital said first-quarter profit rose 23 per cent on strong performance of the company’s asset management division and a gain on disposal of shares in US-listed aircraft lessor AerCap Holdings.
The investment firm which counts Mubadala Investment Company as a shareholder, said net profit for the three months ending March 31, rose to Dh107 million from the year earlier period, according to a regulatory filing with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are listed.
Total income for the quarter increased 18.9 per cent year-on-year to Dh316.2m, largely due to a rise in income by Waha Capital’s Mena Equity and CEEMEA Fixed Income Fund and an increase in assets under management.
"The first quarter results show the strength of our business, with our asset management division providing robust growth, to compliment a steady performance by our principal investments portfolio," said Salem Al Noaimi, chairman of Waha Capital.
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Total expenses decreased 5.3 per cent to Dh160m in the quarter, Waha Capital said, and it detailed a one-off Dh25m gain from the sale of 3.77m shares in Aercap. Waha Capital retains a 15.68 per cent stake in the world’s largest aircraft leasing firm.
The company approved a 17.5 per cent cash dividend of Dh321.7m, or Dh0.175 per share, at its annual general meeting on March 25.
In the last year, Waha Capital has diversified its assets, and the company is actively pursuing further investment opportunities, Mr Al Noaimi said.
“Meanwhile, we continue to steadily increase fee income by attracting third-party investors to our actively managed funds, which have consistently outperformed their benchmarks,” he added.
The firm’s Waha Mena Equity Fund recorded a 10.8 per cent return in the first quarter and the Waha CEEMEA Fixed Income Fund registered a return of 4.1 per cent.
Waha Capital’s total assets rose to Dh11.53 billion at the end of the first quarter from Dh11.35bn at the end of last year.
