Shuaa Capital proposes first dividend in 10 years
dubai — Shuaa Capital on Tuesday said its 2018 second-quarter profit surged 21 per cent to Dh14.6 million from Dh12.1 million in the corresponding period last year.
In a statement, it said revenue in the April-June quarter rose to Dh30.8 million as against Dh30.4 million in the same quarter last year. During this period, Shuaa’s subsidiary, Gulf Finance Corporation, successfully repaid in full its Dh450 million syndicated bank facility raised from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in 2015 and maintained a strong liquidity position on its balance sheet.
“We have been very active during the first half in building a platform for the future,” Fawad Tariq Khan, chief executive officer of Shuaa Capital, said.
The group said its first-half revenue also increased to Dh64 million from Dh62.2 million in the same period last year. It seeks shareholder approval for 10 per cent share buyback and proposes dividend of Dh0.02 per share for the first half of 2018.
“Our Egypt and Saudi businesses in particular have achieved a strong growth trajectory, and more importantly, given our strong liquidity position and recent recoveries, we are now in a position to look at making dividend distributions to our shareholders for the first time in 10 years,” Khan said.
“Shareholder returns are key for the board and management at Shuaa and we remain confident Shuaa can continue on its path to sustained profitability,” he said.
Shuaa’s asset management business, which manages the development of premium real estate projects in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE through a series of funds, has had a particularly strong quarter, with Dh10.5 million in revenues and more than doubled its profits to reach Dh4.6 million. The division is currently approaching the final construction stages of a hospitality building in a third Saudi city (Dammam), with a handover date to be announced soon.