Waha Capital, the Abu Dhabi-listed investment company, posted a 90 per cent drop in second-quarter profits.
The news came as the value of its investments dropped along with the fortunes of the property and financial sectors in which it invests.
Its net profit dropped to Dh5.9 million (US$1.6m) from Dh59.4m in the same quarter the year earlier, the company said in a statement yesterday on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) website.
In the first half of the year, the company said its property investments lost Dh3.4m and its financial services assets dropped Dh405,000.
Waha is involved in property and leasing for the oil and aviation sectors, as well as financing deals for military aircraft for the UAE Armed Forces.
Despite the fall in profits, the company's shares advanced in expectation of a $1.5 billion bond issue by the company's aerospace unit.
"The stock had already climbed 15 per cent in the last two sessions and it was thought the stock would give back some of its gains but it hasn't," said Ali Khan, the managing director and head of brokerage at Arqaam Capital.
Waha Aerospace, which is based in the Netherlands, plans to issue bonds totalling $1.5bn, which will be guaranteed by the Abu Dhabi Government.
Moody's Investors Service assigned the proposed bonds an "Aa2" debt rating.
The company's revenues for the second quarter were Dh76.7m, down 20 per cent from the same period last year.
Waha Capital is 14.71 per cent owned by Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, while 5.13 per cent is owned by a private investor.
The remaining 80.16 per cent is held by the public. It also has investments in the transport, property and financial services sectors.
Waha Aerospace was set up by Waha Capital as a special-purpose entity to issue the bonds.
If Waha Aerospace failed to pay interest on the notes, the Abu Dhabi Government would cover the shortfall after a notice of demand, Moody's said last week.
The bonds will be used to finance the purchase of six Boeing C-17 transportaeroplanes by the country's Armed Forces.
The Waha Aerospace is expected to issue a 10-year bond priced at 225 basis points over the yield on five-year US Treasuries.
Waha Capital was given a mandate to raise a total of Dh12bn for the UAE military, Salem Rashed al Noaimi, the company's chief executive, told Bloomberg in May.
More than half of that amount was raised last year, Mr al Noaimi said.
Waha's stock closed 1.4 per cent higher at 68 fils each on ADX yesterday.
@Email:tarnold@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
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.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5