Bahrain's GFH Group on Tuesday said its real estate income in 2020 fell 52 per cent to $19.4 million. Getty
Bahrain's GFH Group on Tuesday said its real estate income in 2020 fell 52 per cent to $19.4 million. Getty
Bahrain's GFH Group on Tuesday said its real estate income in 2020 fell 52 per cent to $19.4 million. Getty
Bahrain's GFH Group on Tuesday said its real estate income in 2020 fell 52 per cent to $19.4 million. Getty

Bahrain’s GFH full-year profit slides amid Covid 19 pandemic


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group reported a 32 per cent drop in full-year profit as income from real estate, proprietary and co-investments plunged amid a coronavirus-induced economic slowdown.

Net profit attributable to shareholders of the investment bank for the period ending December 31, 2020 declined to $45.1 million, GFH said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. Real estate income fell 52 per cent year-on-year to $19.4m, while total expenses climbed 2 per cent to $274m.

Income from proprietary and co-investments also declined by 30.4 per cent to $29.2m, although the company had benefited from restructuring-related income of $29.4m in the prior year.

“We remain pleased with our overall performance and ongoing diversification, which has enabled the group not simply to weather this storm but to continue to make strides across the business and deliver another solid dividend for our shareholders even in the toughest of years,” Jassim Alseddiqi, chairman of GFH, said.

“While net profit for the period was impacted by disruptions to businesses and markets in the region and around the world, we… maintained strong levels of income generation.”

The group’s net profit in the fourth-quarter jumped to $22m from $1.5m in the same period a year earlier. The prior year's fourth-quarter results included a significant impairment provision in the lender's commercial banking subsidiary.

Total assets and funds under management (AUM) increased 20 per cent year-on-year to over $12 billion, driven by growth in its treasury portfolio and inorganic growth through acquisition. In December, the company acquired Roebuck Asset Management, a UK company that manages about £684m ($953.3m) worth of warehouse and logistics space.

During the year, the company made more than $208m worth of new investments in different markets including the UK, the US and Europe.

“The investments we have made in 2020 have proven highly attractive and sought after by our regional investors, who have exhibited a strong appetite for GFH’s products and great confidence in the unique deals we were able to deliver even under considerable market strain,” Hisham Alrayes, chief executive of GFH, said.

The company has "entered 2021 in a very solid position with everything we need to continue to build and diversify our business and keep delivering solid returns and value to our investors and shareholders," he said.

"We have already begun to convert promising opportunities we have identified, having come into the year with a strong and growing pipeline of new opportunities.”

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
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Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:

Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 

Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto 

Power: 1,600hp

Torque: 1,600Nm

0-100kph in 2.4seconds

0-200kph in 5.8 seconds

0-300kph in 12.1 seconds

Top speed: 440kph

Price: Dh13,200,000

Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:

Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 

Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto 

Power: 1,500hp

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0-100kph in 2.3 seconds

0-200kph in 5.5 seconds

0-300kph in 11.8 seconds

Top speed: 350kph

Price: Dh13,600,000

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

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Transmission: 9-speed auto

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Brief scores:

​​​​​​Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field

​Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55

Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out

Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets

Scorline

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Iraq Hussein 28’

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

if you go

The flights

Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com

Seeing the games

Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com

 

Staying there

Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com

 

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.

Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital

'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

BORDERLANDS

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis

Director: Eli Roth

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Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card

5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m

Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

Silent Hill f

Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.