• Net profit for the first quarter of 2015 up 57% to US$7.48 (QAR27.21 million) million, compared to US$4.76 million (QAR17.32 million) in Q1 2014
• Revenue for Q1 2015 was up 27% to US$20.70 million (QAR75.36 million), compared to US$16.26 million (QAR59.18 million) in Q1 2014
• Three revenue-generating business lines continued to cultivate new business and develop existing relationships.
QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions globally, today reported strong top and bottom line growth for the first quarter of 2015. For the three month period ending 31 March 2015, revenues were up 27% to US$20.70 million (QAR75.36 million) and net profit increased 57% to US$7.48 million (QAR27.21 million), compared to the same period in 2014.
Commenting on these results Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest, said:
“I am very pleased with QInvest’s performance over the last quarter. All three of our key business lines – Investment Banking, Principal Investments and Asset Management – have continued to grow and prosper. We anticipate an active pipeline of activity for the remainder of 2015 and I am confident that we will reach our capital deployment targets for this year.”
Al-Kawari continued: “We remain absolutely committed to maintaining our leading position in all of the markets in which we operate and I would like to thank all of the staff for their continued dedication.”
Business Update
During the first quarter of 2015 all of QInvest’s three revenue-generating business lines – Investment Banking, Principal Investments and Asset Management - continued to cultivate new business and develop existing relationships.
In the Investment Banking division, the debt capital markets franchise continued to grow and, notably, acted as joint lead manager and book runner on Noor Bank’s debut US$500 million Sukuk, which was oversubscribed by more than four times. QInvest continues to actively work on a number of mandates for both sovereign and corporate entities, which the team expects to execute in the second quarter of the year.
QInvest’s structured finance business built on last year’s strong performance and closed approximately US$100 million (QAR364.05 million) of new transactions in both developed and emerging markets. The team is continuing successfully to syndicate these new transactions and those in QInvest’s existing financing portfolio. Additionally, QInvest’s mergers and acquisitions team is active on a number of buy-side and sell-side mandates across multiple industries and geographies for both family offices and institutional investors.
The Principal Investments unit continues to see significant interest from QInvest’s shareholders and clients in real estate investments, which are currently at various stages of execution and completion in Europe and the US. The team continues to assess and secure both equity and financing opportunities. However, there are signs of an excess of capital in both markets, which make securing good equity opportunities challenging.
In the first quarter of 2015, the real estate team secured yielding equity opportunities in the German retail market, additional mezzanine debt transactions in the US and new equity transactions in the GCC, the UK and the US are continually being assessed. Additionally, the team is pursuing equity value add investments and residential development opportunities in London on a co-investment basis.
Following exits in 2014, the historical portfolio of non-real estate Principal Investments was reduced significantly. The trend has continued in the first quarter of 2015. The remaining assets in the historical portfolio are all performing strongly. Nevertheless, QInvest continues to assess opportunities to maximise value from these positions.
During the quarter, QInvest made a selected number of new equity investments; in aggregate deploying approximately US$35 million (QAR127.42 million). The transactions took the form of both direct co-investments and fund investments; in all situations, the investments were made alongside leading investment groups. Finally, QInvest continues to deploy capital into the Sukuk market when attractive opportunities arise.
The Asset Management division has had a robust start first quarter. The team formally launched the QInvest Pioneer European Fund, increasing the QMAP exposure and successfully rolled out Qatar Islamic Bank’s (QIB’s) capital protected note that offers shareholders and clients an upside exposure to a range of GCC companies in a two-year period. The team is involved in the design, construction, approval and coordination of the sales process across QIB’s network. As of 31 March 2015, assets under management reached US$288 million (QAR1.05 billion).
Saudi Arabia
After the period close, on 28 April 2015, the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA) approved QInvest Saudi Arabia’s request to decrease its capital from SAR50,000,000 to SAR5,000,000. The capital reduction reflects the efficient use of capital across the Group, which is in line with QInvest’s strategy and objectives in the region. QInvest continues to remain committed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the business strategy focused on expanding the Bank’s sharia’a capabilities and offering.