Waha Capital profits up 20 per cent

17 May 2015

AED4bn in investment planned

  • Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital announces 20 per cent rise in first quarter profits to AED182m ($50m)
  • The value of its assets fell 2 per cent to AED9.6bn over the quarter
  • Investments including US-based Aercap, local Dunia Capital and Mena Infrastructure Fund performed well

Abu Dhabi investor Waha Capital has announced first quarter 2015 profits of AED182m ($50m).

This is a 20 per cent rise on its first quarter profits from 2014.

In 2014 Waha Capital made a record annual profit of AED1.73bn after unlocking part of the value in its 12.6 per cent stake in US-based aircraft leaser Aercap when it acquired US-based International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).

It approved a cash dividend of AED0.30. Its share price fell by around 3 per cent, to AED2.55 on the news.

Waha’s assets are now worth AED9.6bn, down by 2 per cent from the end of 2014. The fall is due to the reduction of the company’s cash balances and the revaluation adjustment in its Aercap shares.

“[Waha Capital] will look to invest up to AED4bn in sectors with high growth potential such as energy, infrastructure, healthcare and education over the next five years,” says Hussain Jasim al-Nowais, chairman of Waha Capital in a press release. “Waha Capital has also successfully added to its asset mix by developing a strong capital markets capability and we expect to offer this expertise to third-party investors this year.”

Waha also holds a 25 per cent stake in local Dunia Capital, which reported a 43.2 per cent rise in net profit to AED59m in the first quarter.

It owns Anglo Arabian Healthcare (AAH) Group, which had a consolidated revenue of AED49m in the first quarter, compared to AED30m in Q1 2014.

Waha’s 17.9 per cent stake in the Mena Infrastructure Fund, which holds stakes in four power plants, continues to pay dividends of around 7 per cent a year.

Waha owns a 20.15 per cent stake in Dubai-based National Petroleum Services (NPS), which secured contracts worth AED83m in the first quarter. Its total outstanding contracts-in-progress are now worth AED1.63bn. NPS recorded revenues of AED172m in the first quarter, compared to AED141m in the same period of 2014.

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