- Revenues of QAR 73.1 million and operating profit of QAR 25.4 million
- Strong liquidity position, diversified investment activity and global assets
QINVEST, Qatar's leading private investment group and one of the region’s most prominent Islamic financial institutions, today announced its first quarter results for 2018. Revenues from all business lines amounted to QAR 73.1 million (US$ 20.1 million), resulting in operating profit of QAR 25.4 million (US$ 6.9 million) and net profit of QAR 1.7 million (US$ 0.5 million). The group’s global assets stood at QAR 4,509 million (US$ 1,239 million) as of 31 March 2018.
The group’s revenues and net profit fell in line with expectations for the first quarter of 2018, while costs have remained stable, following efficiency initiatives taken by the management. The group maintained a strong liquidity position with a healthy Capital Adequacy Ratio of 25.8% as of March 31, 2018.
Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QINVEST, said:
“While the first quarter of 2018 saw headwinds in the region, the diversified nature of the group has allowed us to capitalize on more favorable global market conditions. Remaining prudent in our management of risk, we are committed to our strategy of prioritizing investments that can deliver risk-adjusted returns across all markets.”
Al-Kawari, added:
“We started 2018 with an active investment book and a healthy pipeline of deals. We will continue to invest selectively across different sectors and markets where we feel there are opportunities for growth, particularly in international real estate, murabaha and equity investments, and funds. This will allow us to deliver value to clients and shareholders at a time when they are counting on us the most.”
The Asset Management team has had a strong start to the year and has sustained top quartile performance in both local and global markets. During the reporting period, the team migrated the management of its US Growth Equity fund from Edgewood Management to Spyglass Capital Management, a spinoff from Edgewood. The fund has returned 103% since inception and remains committed to a similar investment strategy under Spyglass Capital’s management.
In the Ijarah space, the funds demonstrated strong performance and the first dividend payment for QINVEST SQN Fund II was made at the end of March 2018. In Turkey, the strong performance delivered by QINVEST Portfoy has attracted new investors, with the team winning five new mandates from pension funds in the first quarter.
The Investment Banking division continued to build a pipeline of prospective buy-side and sell-side local and cross border M&A mandates in Q1 2018. In the debt markets, QINVEST is in continuous dialogue with various clients for structured finance and liquidity solutions, including GRE’s, corporates and financial institutions. This includes arranging for collateralized lending, advising on international Sukuk issuances, and other bespoke solutions. The team continues to see significant interest from Qatari institutional and private clients as investors look to re-adjust business portfolios to take advantage of evolving market conditions.
Following substantial capital deployments in the fourth quarter of 2017, the Real Estate business has been focused on managing its existing portfolio and reinforcing strategic relationships with partners. Maintaining a strong network is particularly important given the abundant capital targeting the real estate sector, which has resulted in significantly higher pricings. The business is expecting to profit from this buoyant real estate environment by successfully exiting some transactions during the year and will continue to seek investments where risk and return are appropriately balanced.
Opportunities for the group’s own capital, as well as shareholders and third-party client funds, continue to be key area for the Credit Investments Business. The Business is committed to delivering superior risk-adjusted returns with an emphasis on portfolio diversification, value maximizing rotation and liquidity optimization. The team took tactical re-allocation decisions across the portfolio in the first quarter of 2018, exiting and crystallizing returns on c. US$ 15 million worth of investments.
On the Equity Investment front, the business maintained a focus on its portfolio of proprietary and third-party managed investments across MENA, Europe and Asia. The portfolio is performing strongly, generating value for shareholders and partial realizations as certain investments reach maturity. The team will continue to selectively seek opportunistic exits based upon supportive macro tailwinds and solid underlying growth.
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