Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced financial results for the quarter ending 31st March, 2011 reporting a net profit of $11.9m. The company recorded a loss of $7.5m for the same period last year.

Aggressive cost cutting and debt restructuring helped the bank reduce expenses by almost 50 per cent. Since 2010, the bank has exited from investments in Bahrain Financial Harbour, Qinvest, Saudi Real Estate Company, raising $300m in cash and assets.

“We accept that we have had a tough two years as a result of the global financial crisis, but we have had around 10 good years before that. We will ensure a steady and continuous income stream from management fees and on our proprietary investments,” says Esam Yousif Janahi, executive chairman of GFH.