Waha Capital reports Dhs214.44m net profit for full-year 2012

The company has recorded a net profit of Dhs214.44m for 2012, up 38.1% from Dhs155.31m in 2011, with key portfolio companies performing well despite global economic challenges.

The increase in profit was due to strong performances from our investee companies, including New York -listed Aercap and Dunia Finance. Aercap was one of the main drivers of the company's earnings in 2012, as Waha Capital's stake in the aircraft leasing firm rose to 26.3% from 21.3% as a result of a decision not to participate in AerCap's share buy-back initiative.

Waha Capital recorded an operating income of Dhs464.21m in 2012, up 21.1% from Dhs386.50m in 2011.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company's net profit nearly doubled to Dhs183.47m, from Dhs92.95m for the same period last year. The main contributor to fourth quarter earnings was Waha's share of profit from its interest in aviation investee companies.

The 2012 financial results were announced following a Board meeting in Abu Dhabi chaired by His Excellency Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, Chairman of Waha Capital, and attended by the members of the Board of Directors and the executive management of the company.

"This was a strong year for Waha Capital, especially given the difficult global trading environment. The company is now positioned well for growth in the coming years," said H.E. Al Nowais. "We have taken important strategic decisions to structure the company with an aim to generate attractive and sustainable returns for our shareholders in the future, and have full confidence that the company will deliver the desired results."

Salem Rashid Al Noaimi, CEO and Managing Director of Waha Capital, said: "We have an excellent investment team in place and a strong pipeline of potential investments, where we believe we can add value and achieve attractive returns. Operationally, we will maintain a prudent approach to financial management, and continue to focus on increasing our efficiency in the way we manage our assets."

The value of Waha Capital's assets stood at Dhs4.44bn as of December 31, 2012, compared with Dhs4.20bn a year earlier.

Key portfolio companies saw positive developments in 2012.

New York Stock Exchange -listed AerCap signed $1.5bn of new financing and made significant improvements to its fleet in 2012. The company purchased 20 new aircraft, delivered 35 aircraft under lease and signed lease agreements for 47 aircraft. Over the course of the year, the company sold 70 aircraft as part of a strategy to maintain a young fleet, reducing the average age of its aircraft to 5.1 years from 5.8 years. AerCap now oversees a portfolio of 333 aircraft, either owned or managed, and total assets of $10bn.

In 2012, AerCap continued with a share buy-back initiative which began the previous year. Waha Capital chose not to participate in the 2012 programme, resulting in an increase in the company's stake in AerCap to 26.3 percent, from 21.3 percent at the end of 2011.

Stanford Marine Group (SMG), an oil and gas services firm in which Waha Capital has a 49 percent stake, recorded a utilization rate of 90 percent in 2012 and successfully renewed charters for 11 vessels. The company also took delivery of two new vessels, both of which are now currently under charter. SMG extended its reach into East Africa, successfully tendering for a new contract in Tanzania. Meanwhile, Grandweld, the company's shipbuilding arm, has established a new ship repair division in Fujairah and obtained a new contract to design, build and deliver two crew boats for Fujairah National Group. SMG also inaugurated a new state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility in Dubai Maritime City, which should allow for significant additional capacity.

Dunia Finance, which was co-founded by Waha Capital and in which Waha Capital has a 25% stake, continued its strong growth with net income increasing four-fold in 2012. Revenues rose 37.4% to Dhs267m, as the customer base grew by 28% to 113,600 and loans increased by a third in 2012. The company has also established Dunia Services, a company that provides business outsourcing services to financial and other institutions.

Waha Land, a wholly owned subsidiary of Waha Capital, completed the first phase of its light industrial and warehousing development ALMARKAZ in 2012. The project is seeing strong leasing interest in all its offerings, including serviced land plots, single units ranging from 250 sq m to 12,000 sq m, as well as potential for build-to-suit and turn-key options. A number of leasing contracts are in the final stages of completion.