Arcapita profits increase by 90% to $362.2m

This result means that since inception, Arcapita's net income has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 40%. Total operating revenue for fiscal 2008 was $648.5m, an increase of 59.1% compared to the annualized figure of $407.5m achieved in fiscal 2007. Arcapita's balance sheet footing at the end of June 2008 was $5.1bn, up 35.0% on the $3.8bn at the end of fiscal 2007.

A cash dividend of $90.2m for the period has been proposed for shareholders' approval at Arcapita's Annual General Meeting, representing a return of 40% on the Bank's paid-in capital.

Arcapita's Chairman, Mohammed Abdulaziz Aljomaih, stated,

"Arcapita has once again delivered another set of very pleasing results. In a challenging global economic environment, the bank has performed well in each of its lines of business, validating the bank's strategy of geographic and product diversification."

Arcapita sources transactions for each of its lines of business - corporate, real estate, asset-based and venture capital investments - out of its offices in Bahrain, Atlanta, London, and most recently Singapore, where the bank opened an office during fiscal 2008. The bank now employs over 300 people, a third of whom are located outside of the bank's headquarters in Bahrain.

Abdulaziz Hamad Aljomaih, Vice Chairman of Arcapita, added, "We have witnessed considerable economic turbulence in much of the world's economy during the last 12 months, but Arcapita's international network of resources has allowed us to maintain a good flow of attractive investment opportunities for our investors. As well as sourcing investments from our traditional markets in the United States, Western Europe and Middle East, the bank sourced and completed its first investments in Eastern Europe, India, Singapore and China, markets which we believe are full of growth potential."

"We completed a $1.1bn medium term financing facility last summer prior to the onset of the credit crunch. This gave us a very stable platform to mange our balance sheet funding and liquidity during the year," said Atif A. Abdulmalik, Chief Executive Officer of Arcapita.

"We made 13 new investments in each of our four lines of business during the year with a total transaction value of over $8bn, and we have almost $5bn in funds under management. Our average investment size is increasing steadily, and we have now completed seven transactions, with a value in excess of a billion dollars. After careful analysis, and dialogue with our investors, we made our first investments into a number of important new markets, as we continue to pursue our strategic goal of increasing geographical diversification."

During the year, Arcapita exited from six investments and, together with recapitalizations during the period, was able to return more than $1.1bn to investors.