Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Waha Capital reported a 38.5% increase in its second-quarter net income. Reuters
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Waha Capital reported a 38.5% increase in its second-quarter net income. Reuters

Waha Capital Q2 profit surges 38.5% on investments and assets management businesses



Waha Capital, which counts Mubadala Investment Company among its shareholders, reported a 38.5 per cent year-on-year rise in the second-quarter net profit, boosted by higher income from its private investments and asset management businesses.

Net profit for the three months to the end of June climbed to Dh132.4 million, the company said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded. Total income for the period rose 7.7 per cent to Dh306.5m as profit from private investments advanced 77.4 per cent to Dh162m, while asset management income grew by 53 per cent year-on-year to Dh26.7m.

Waha's profit for the first six months of the year also surged 31 per cent to Dh239.7m, largely driven by the company's successful exit of NPS Holdings in June. The company's balance sheet remains robust with a strong level of cash realisation and consistent performance from a number of business segments, Waha said.

“We have a good balance between our private investments and asset management businesses and good visibility on cash flows,” Michael Raynes, chief executive of Waha Capital, said. “To manage risk, we have increased liquidity across our investments. We now benefit from diversified exposure to listed securities, through our asset management funds and listed investments, including AerCap and NESR,” he said.

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The company, which is 15 per cent owned by Mubadala, in June this year acquired a 5.8 per cent stake in National Energy Services Reunited Corporation as part of its exit from NPS Holdings. The formation of NESR, the only Nasdaq-listed national oilfield services company in the Middle East and North African region, as an operating entity was completed in June with the 100 per cent acquisition of NPS Holdings and Gulf Energy company for a total consideration of about $888m (Dh3.26 billion).

Waha said its operating cash flow for the first half of 2018 came in at Dh679m, reflecting cash generation from activities on AerCap and NPS in which it had held 20.62 per cent stake. Its total income for the period grew by 12.3 per cent year-on-year to Dh618.7m, with return on average equity reaching 7.2 per cent.

The company's total assets climbed 1.8 per cent to Dh11.5bn from the end of last year, it said.

"In recent years, we have increased the proportion of liquid assets in our investment portfolio and enhanced the company's ability to generate healthy cash flows," said Salem Al Noaimi, chairman of Waha Capital.

“Waha Capital is well positioned to make additional direct investments, focusing on sectors where we have built significant expertise. The company is also taking our attractive offering to third-party investors, both for direct co-investment opportunities and for our award-winning asset management business,” he said.

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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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