IFA achieves 209 per cent increase in profits for first nine months of 2005 compared to same period last year

The earnings per share for the first nine months of 2005 reached 222 fils compared to 71 fils for the same period in 2004. The profit for the third quarter of 2005 has reached Kuwaiti Dinar 33 million, surpassing the KWD 27 million profit achieved for the entire year in 2004.

Al Bahr attributed the unprecedented profit of the company to the successful strategy adopted by the board of directors since the mid of 2002. The strategy was aimed at enhancing IFA's position on the regional and international level, through investment in assets management, funds and direct portfolios. The success of this strategy is reflected by the 90 per cent Return On Investment (ROI) achieved by IFA's investment fund since the beginning of the current year till October 27, 2005, putting the fund at the forefront of similar funds in Kuwait.

IFA's Gulf Fund has also been equally successful, reaching 83.7 per cent from the beginning of the year with an overall increase of 105.4 per cent since its inception on April 15th 2004 to October 31st 2005. The company is also on its way to launching the first Islamic Fund consisting of 25 Islamic companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). IFA has continued to successfully list its companies, with the Al Deera Holding Company being listed in August 2005. IFA will list companies throughout 2006 and consolidate their position in the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The second part of IFA's strategy focuses on real estate investment pertaining to hotels and resorts spread across many geographical areas covering UAE, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Zanzibar, Indian Ocean and eastern part of Asia.

Al Bahr pointed out that IFA's strategy is built on the diversity and variety of investment tools that are spread across several geographical areas, lending flexibility to the investment by spreading and minimizing the investment risks and giving a higher Return On Investment to the company. The strategy also involves allying with leading groups in different investment and real estate operations covering GCC and the Middle East regions, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Al Bahr also adds that, following the success and achievements of IFA in the hospitality sector, it is time for implementation of IFA's strategy to have separate operations and launch a specialised company which will be a subsidiary of IFA, but with a separate management that can help in achieving the company's goals in record time, and contribute to higher ROI. This will result in enhancing IFA's profits and assets when listing IFA Hotels & Resorts in the Kuwait Stock Exchange in the near future.

Al Bahr said that the first nine months of 2005 has seen remarkable achievements for IFA, including its listing on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on September 10, 2005, making it the first Kuwaiti company to be listed on DFM. This move generated excellent response from the UAE's business community. Two days after it was listed on DFM, IFA Hotels & Resorts was listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. As for the marketing of new and existing projects, IFA has successfully promoted Alabadiyah Hills in Lebanon, which will be managed by the Kempinski Group. Over 50 per cent of the units at Alabadiyah Hills have been sold in the summer of 2005. The company has also successfully continued promoting the Fairmont Palm Residence project in The Palm Jumeirah.

IFA has several financial and investment plans for its existing and future projects, including investment funds and hospitality projects which it hopes to accomplish in the fourth quarter of 2005 and the beginning of 2006.

Al Bahr concluded that IFA's success and accomplishments in 2005 is a result of the well-planned strategy adopted by the company, and he firmly believes that this strategy will be successful at the local, regional and international level.