Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) has seen its y-o-y Q1 net profit attributable to shareholders soar 92% to KD7.81 million ($25.46 million), while its assets under management (AUM) hit an all-time high of KD1.170 billion.The net profit in Q1 2021 was KD4.06 million.

Total revenues were at KD12.24 million, up by 49% y-o-y, as compared to KD8.23 million in Q1 2021 and earnings per share was 16 fils in Q1 2022. AUM was up by 18.4% y-o-y.

Diraar Yusuf Alghanim, Chairman of Markaz, stated: “In the middle of the first quarter of 2022, global economy and trade were impacted by the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The increasing sanctions on Russia and energy supply constraints have led to a sharp rise in oil prices globally, which resulted in positive performance for the GCC equity markets and MSCI GCC index delivered 18% returns across a broad base of industries.

Agile strategies

“The Kuwait economy also continued to deliver strong growth supported by the rising oil prices. However, high levels of inflation, rising interest rates and the potential emergence of new Covid-19 variants may put some pressure on the global economic outlook. At Markaz, we continue to monitor the latest markets trends and implement flexible, agile strategies and business plans.”

In addition, asset management fees reached KD3.08 million in Q1 2022, an increase of 21% y-o-y and 31% on a sequential basis

The occupancy levels across Markaz’s key real estate assets continued to improve and the portfolio registered a net rental income of KD0.92 million in Q1 2022, up by 3% y-o-y. Although investment banking fees were KD0.06 million lower compared to same period last year, Markaz expects corporate transaction volumes to pick up in the coming quarters.

Balance sheet

Total revenues also include gains from investments at a fair value of KD7.7 million as compared to KD4.7 million in Q1 2021. From a balance sheet perspective, Markaz repaid its debt of KD3.6 million during the quarter, reducing the firm’s debt to equity ratio to 0.41x.

During Q1 2022, Markaz has been awarded “Best Investment Bank in Kuwait for 2022” from Global Finance, reflecting Markaz’s capabilities in meeting the client objectives and responding to an ever-evolving competitive landscape.

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