The UAE-based investment bank Shuaa Capital has posted an increase in net profit for the first quarter of the year, marking a recovery from the losses recorded in the same period in 2013.

The bank has reported a profit of AED8.2m ($2.2m) in the first three months of the year, according to its preliminary results published on 13 April. Revenues are 77 per cent higher at AED64m compared with the AED36m recorded in the first quarter of 2013.  

The growth is a result of the recovery in the UAE’s capital markets and investment banking sector, according to Sheikh Maktoum Hasher al-Maktoum, Shuaa’s executive chairman, with the bank working on a rising number of initial public offerings (IPOs) among other corporate transactions.

Last year, the bank returned to profitability for the first time since 2008, when it recorded a net profit of AED2.8m, an increase of AED62m from a net loss of AED59m recorded in 2012.