Mubasher: The cross-listed Bahraini firm GFH Financial Group generated net profits to the shareholders worth $60.75 million in the first half (H1) of 2024, which came 11.20% higher than $54.62 million in H1-23.
The earnings per share (EPS) rose by 9.70% to 170 cents in H1-24 from 1.55 cents in H1-23, according to a press release.
The firm attributed the H1-24 positive results to contributions from the investment banking business as well as growth in GFH’s commercial banking subsidiary and treasury and proprietary investment activities.
GFH’s total income surged by 53.70% to $332.23 million during the January-June 2024 period from $216.21 million in the same six months (6M) a year earlier.
Financial Results for Q2-24
During the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, the net profits to the owners of GFH increased by 9.80% to $33.61 million compared with $30.61 million Q2-23.
GFH noted that the annual growth in Q2-24 net profit to the shareholders resulted from continued solid performance and contributions from the group’s subsidiaries and core investment management activities.
In addition, the EPS went up to 0.94 cents in Q2-24 from 0.86 cents in Q2-23, signalling a 9.30% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
Total income hit $169.26 million during April-June 2024, which was 52.30% higher than $111.16 million in Q2-23.
Chairman of GFH, Abdulmohsen Rashed Al Rashed, said: “The group’s market value was also enhanced by the addition of a new strategic shareholder, with Ahmed bin Saeed Al Qasimi joining the group’s shareholder base.”
Al Rashed added: “In line with our strategy aimed at providing greater value to shareholders, we have also recently appointed BHM Capital as the liquidity provider for GFH shares listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), as well as SICO as a market maker for GFH shares listed on the Bahrain Bourse.”
It is worth noting that GFH is also trading on Boursa Kuwait.
The Chairman concluded: “Building on this momentum, our focus remains on even further diversifying our international portfolio of assets and creating tangible value for our investors and shareholders in the forthcoming periods.”
GFH currently manages more than $21 billion of assets and funds including a global portfolio of investments in logistics, healthcare, education and technology across the MENA region, Europe, and North America.
From his part, Hisham Alrayes, the CEO and Board Member at GFH, said: “For the quarter and six-month period, income grew significantly by more than 50% year-on-year, respectively, enabling us to further enhance profitability in line with market forecasts.”
Alrayes added: “During the quarter, we also grew our global portfolios and investments and executed exits at good prices for shareholders and the Group. Our global real estate asset management arm, GFH Partners, successfully closed its US Industrial & Logistics Fund VII with a total transaction value of $300 million, and we completed the sale of the Group’s investment in Charthouse Bahrain and exited from our joint investment with Carlyle in Citrix in just 18 months.”
In Q1-24, the Bahraini group generated $27.13 million worth of net profits to the owners in addition to $162.97 million total income.
