• Revenues up 37% to US$ 78.7 million [QAR 286.5 million], compared to US$ 57.5 million [QAR 209.2 million] in the third quarter of 2014
• Net profit increased 69% to US$ 33.8 million [QAR 123.1 million], compared to US$ 20.0 million [QAR 72.7 million] in the third quarter of 2014
QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment group and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions globally, reported its results for the third quarter of 2015. The Bank generated another quarter of robust performance across the board, with revenues increasing 37% to US$ 78.7 million and net profit rising 69% to US$ 33.8 million.
Commenting on these results Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest, said:
“We are very encouraged by our performance during the third quarter of 2015. With our commitment to drive growth and innovation across the business, we have continued to source new opportunities, strengthen our brand and deliver positive returns. Whilst we expect on-going market volatility and economic challenges to remain present, we are confident on the outlook for the business. We have an exciting active pipeline of deal flow and a unique market position to leverage investment opportunities across the GCC region and selected markets in Europe, Asia and the U.S.”
Business Update
The Investment Banking division maintains a strong asset growth profile on its innovative Islamic structured finance book with transactions across multiple sectors in Europe and Emerging Markets. The advisory team is active on various M&A and Equity Capital Markets transactions, most notably closing the acquisition of a stake in Boyner Retail & Textile Investments (BRTI), the Turkish retail conglomerate, by a Qatari client. QInvest’s Sukuk franchise continues to generate international and regional interest in corporate and sovereign issuers, albeit at lower volumes given current market volatility.
Our Principal Investments unit continues to deploy and reinvest in a range of transactions across the real estate sector in particular. These transactions included a blend of income generating property assets in Europe (Germany and the UK) and the USA, repositioning of a commercial property asset in Luxembourg, and private rented sector/ multi-family accommodation in the UK. The team also conducted mezzanine debt transactions in the USA, while the focus continues to search for value add and residential development opportunities, on a co-investment basis, across selected markets. Beyond the real estate sector, we have successfully exited one of our investments in Qatar and deployed capital in selected direct co-investments, pre-IPO and fund investments across Europe and Emerging Markets.
The third quarter was a busy period for our Asset Management division. A further capital guaranteed note was launched through Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), our main and largest shareholder. It offers investors upside exposure to a basket of energy companies, in a two-year note, and was very well received by the local market. We also added another fund to our pioneering QINVEST Managed Account Platform (QMAP) fund platform with the launch of the QInvest Pramerica Liquid Real Estate fund. The fund has been launched in partnership with Pramerica Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment management business of U.S.-headquartered Prudential Financial, Inc, which is one of the largest real estate investors in the world with gross assets under management of US$ 61.5 billion. The fund will give investors access to the global real estate market by investing exclusively in high yielding sharia’a-compliant real estate investment trusts and other real estate-related securities.
The Bank also concluded its debut 5 year US$200 million Murabaha facility with a syndicate of local and international banks. This facility demonstrates the strength of QInvest’s balance sheet and its part of our funding diversification and capital efficiency plan. In parallel to QINVEST’s positive results and market positioning, the Bank continued to support the communities by further committing to its role as an active socially responsible organization.
As a testament to QINVEST’s achievements during this year, the Bank has been awarded a number of prestigious accolades including The Banker magazine’s Most Innovative Investment Bank from the Middle East, Euromoney’s Best Investment Bank in Qatar, Global Finance World's Best Islamic Real Estate Finance Provider, Global Investor/ISF’s Sukuk Manager of the Year and Global Banking & Finance’s Best Islamic Asset Management Company in the Middle East and Qatar.