Waha posts steep drop as investment values fall



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

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Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

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A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
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Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

War and the virus
The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

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Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
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Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
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The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches 
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Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
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