Manama, 31st August, 2015

Seera Investment Bank B.S.C.(c), a Shari'a compliant investment bank headquartered in Bahrain announced its results for the 6 months ended 30th June 2015 reporting consolidated net income of $2.3 million for the six months period compared to a loss of $29.5 million for the same period last year. The profit for quarter ended 30th June 2015 was $1.6 million compared to a loss of $1.7 million for the same quarter last year. The increase in income is mainly attributed to fees on the acquisition and structuring of a new investment  and exits from two  investments.

Total assets of the Bank as of 30th June 2015 stood at $198 million and Seera's balance sheet  remained strong with a capital adequacy ratio of around 26% and liquid assets of $34 million.

Abdulla Janahi, Seera's Chief Executive Officer said: "In line with the Bank's strategy, Seera has not only continued to extract value from its existing investments but also continued to grow its business through new transactions.  During the first half of the year we have been successful in not only exiting from two  investments but have also completed a new transaction.  In February 2015 we successfully exited from the Shari'a compliant financing provided for the development of a UK Student Housing project in London and in June we finalized the sale process of Kosan Crisplant, a private equity investment in Denmark." 

On Seera's new business Mr. Janahi added "Our recent investment in the development of dementia suffering elderly care homes in the UK was very well received in the market. The project will be developed on a 1.19 acre freehold site in Clapham, London over a 3 to 4 year period. The units are expected to be sold over the development period with distribution of substantially all the originally invested capital in the 4th year of investment together with a part of the profits.  The investment over the holding period is expected to generate very attractive risk adjusted returns for Seera and its investors."

On looking ahead Mr. Janahi added "Significant challenges remain in the global markets with slower than expected growth in the developed economies. However, according to general market consensus the underlying fundamentals in key economies continue to show positive momentum which will further benefit from low oil prices. With this in mind, Seera will, albeit with caution, continue to identify opportunities in its target markets. In this regard a number of investments are already in the pipeline and are expected to be completed during the next few months.  In addition the Bank will continue to opportunistically exit from certain existing investments and a number of such exits are in progress."

Seera has investments in the industrial manufacturing and transportation sectors in addition to smaller investments in the utilities and real estate sectors. The Bank's investment strategy is to maintain a diversified investment portfolio geographically and industry wise, focusing on sectors underpinned by strong fundamental demand, and to avoid speculation driven sectors.

-Ends-

This press release has been issued by  the PR & Corporate Communications department of Seera Investment Bank. For further information, please contact:
Mr. Shahzad Iqbal, Chief Operating Officer
e-mail: siqbal@seera.com

About Seera Investment Bank
Incorporated in 2006 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Seera Investment Bank B.S.C. (c) (Seera) is an Islamic Whole Sale Bank licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain with a paid-up capital of around US$ 146 million. Seera provides investment banking products and services in strict adherence to Shari'a rules and principles.

© Press Release 2015