Shuaa Capital reports Dh267m profit for the second quarter despite pandemic

The company will explore new opportunities to maintain its profitability and growth

Dubai investment bank Shuaa Capital reported a net profit of Dh267 million during the second quarter . Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai investment bank Shuaa Capital posted a net profit of Dh267 million and a first-half profit of Dh5m despite the Covid-19 pandemic. There are no comparable figures as Shuaa Capital merged with Abu Dhabi Financial Group last year.

The tie up created an enlarged business with both an asset management and investment banking platform, that diversified revenue streams across seven countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK.

"Shuaa's first half financial results for 2020 affirmed the company's ability to sustain its resilient revenue growth amidst severe global economic, financial and social impacts of the Covid-19 crisis and other market disruptions," the company said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market on Wednesday.

The company’s operating income was Dh86m in the second quarter. Assets under management at the end of second-quarter reached $13 billion (Dh48bn) compared to $12.8bn in the first quarter of 2020.

“Whilst Covid-19 as well as the economic and geopolitical challenges will continue to impact overall business and market activity for some time, our business model is calibrated around seizing opportunities across economic cycles, geographies and products,” Jassim Alseddiqi, chief executive of Shuaa Capital said.

“Our pipeline of investment banking mandates has strengthened, and the launch of scalable new investment funds has commenced.”

The company also said it managed to downsize its non-strategic assets, achieving a 38 per cent reduction in its non-core asset unit (NCU) since July 2019 to date, and “releasing in excess of Dh128m of cash through exits".

During first half, Shuaa acted as lead or co-lead arranger on transactions that raised over $500m, while executing fixed income flow in excess of $1.5bn.