QINVEST, Qatar's leading private investment group and one of the region’s most prominent Islamic financial institutions, today announced its nine-month results for 2018. Revenues from all business lines amounted to QAR 212.7 million (US$ 58.4 million), resulting in operating profit of QAR 76.4 million (US$ 21.0 million) and net profit attributable to shareholders of QAR 2.1 million (US$ 0.6 million). The group’s global assets stood at QAR 4,418 million (US$ 1,214 million) as of 30 September 2018.
The group has maintained a strong liquidity and capital position during 2018 through selective asset disposals, measured new investments and on-going cost management.
Remaining prudent in its management of risk, the group remains committed to its strategy of prioritizing investments that can deliver risk-adjusted returns across all markets.
QINVEST has continued to manage an active investment book and a healthy pipeline of deals in the second half of 2018. It has invested selectively across different sectors and markets in which there are opportunities for growth, particularly in international real estate, murabaha and equity investments, and funds. This allowed the group to serve the needs of its clients, while also generating value for shareholders.
QINVEST has several updates across its three key business lines - Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Principal Investments which focuses on Real Estate, Credit, and Equity Investments.
On the Asset Management front, the team maintained momentum into the third quarter of 2018 with an impressive range of performance statistics across its range of actively managed funds and portfolios, with QMAP continuing to deliver best in class performance. The strong reputation of the Asset Management team was recognized at the ACQ5 Global Awards where it won the ‘MEA - Asset management Advisory Firm of the Year’ and ‘Qatar – Sharia Compliant Advisory Firm of the Year’ categories. The department, through its Ijarah platform, launched the “QINVEST SQN Income Fund III” which was oversubscribed in the offer period, raising US$ 65 million (QAR 237 million). The ijarah platform has now grown to US$ 165 million (QAR 600 million) in less than two years, paying investors a healthy distributed yield on a monthly basis. In Turkey, the team benefited from volatility in the markets and continued to deliver top quartile performances.
On the Investment Banking front, the M&A franchise continues to hold discussions with clients across sectors for both inbound and outbound transactions. This corresponds to the various industries (infrastructure, real estate, hospitality, logistics) and initiatives that demonstrate strong growth potential. On the debt advisory franchise, the team has recently advised on a number of landmark restructuring mandates and is in conversations with GRE’s, corporates, and family offices to guide them through complex structured capital structure assignments and debt restructuring mandates. There is also dialogue, notably with financial institutions, to cater for liquidity solutions either through structured private capital solutions or international capital markets. As the group heads towards year end, the advisory platform is undergoing an uptick in activity further supported by local clients’ willingness to undertake cross border investments.
On the Principal Investment front, the group reported growth across its Real Estate, Credit, and Equity investments:
- The Real Estate franchise continued managing its existing portfolio, reinforcing strategic relationships with partners while monitoring existing investments with the objective of maximizing value and realizing exits. At the beginning of the third quarter, the group announced the successful exit of a real estate mezzanine murabaha transaction in the US. The transaction generated a realized IRR in excess of 13%, further demonstrating QINVEST’s international network and structuring expertise. The team consistently reviews market opportunities to maintain a healthy pipeline of transactions that meet return targets while minimizing risk. Additionally, the team is actively engaged in a number of advisory transactions alongside the Investment Banking division.
- The Credit Investments franchise continued to focus on delivering risk-adjusted returns with an emphasis on portfolio diversification, asset rotation and liquidity. As global volatility has increased during this year, the team continued to actively manage the existing portfolio of credit investments and monitor the market for opportunities that will generate value for the group’s own capital, as well as shareholders and third-party clients. As the current credit cycle develops, QINVEST remains steadfastly disciplined in its through-the-cycle approach to investing.
- The Equity Investment franchise maintained a focus on its portfolio of proprietary and third-party managed investments across MENA, Europe and Asia. The portfolio is performing competitively, generating value for shareholders through capital appreciation and partial realizations as certain investments reach maturity. The team aims to seek opportunistic exits based on supportive macro tailwinds and solid underlying growth.
QINVEST’s strong governance and risk framework, coupled with its ability to generate compelling cash returns, makes it the preferred investment partner for clients in Qatar and abroad. With a track record of completed exits of US$ 858 million across 24 transactions, and funds with a weighted realized cash IRR of 15.5%, QINVEST occupies a position among the top investment groups in the region.
In summary, while the third quarter of 2018 has been notable for adverse market conditions in the region; the diversified nature of the group has allowed QINVEST to capitalize on more favorable global market conditions. Looking ahead, QINVEST will focus on structuring a diversified range of investment products across different asset classes to cater to rising demand for Sharia’a-compliant financial solutions.
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