Inovest announces first quarter profit of US$3.2m

Manama  : Inovest yesterday announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2016, recording a net profit of US$3.2 million in comparison to a loss of US$0.9m for the same period last year.  

The company also reported an increase of 150 per cent in its operating income from US$2m in the first quarter of 2015 to US$5m for the same period this year.  Over the first three months of 2016, the Group’s operating expenses saw a 38pc decline, standing at US$1.9m as compared to US$3m in the previous year. Earnings Per Share in Q1 of 2016 was US cents 1.13 compared to a Loss Per Share of US cent 0.35 for the same time period in 2015.

The turnaround in performance, and the achievement of profit for the first time in several years, according to Inovest, was the outcome of a series of exits from legacy real estate investments as well as the Group’s activities in contracting and development.  It is also attributable to a continued mandate for stringency and efficiency in the management of operating expenses, specifically the reduction in the cost of financing as well as a restructuring and settlement of debts.  This latter initiative has meant an improvement in the Group’s liquidity position as well as a reduction in total debt exposure by 27.6pc in comparison to year-end 2015.

Commenting on the results, Khaled AlSanaousi, Chairman of the Inovest Board of Directors said, “We will, without a doubt, continue to strive towards improving our performance through the implementation of our three year strategy.  Though this year is dedicated towards a return to profitability through the exit of legacy investments and enhanced performance, the Group will also look at diversification of its investment portfolio to include new sectors and markets beyond local boundaries.”

From his end, CEO Murad Al Ramadan said, “We are pleased to see the beginnings of a new era for the Group.  We closed the books on 2015 with several stern but necessary decisions, and these have been the foundation from which we began implementing our three-year strategy.  To that end, we were able to successfully exit some of our legacy investments and also to reduce our debt exposure and enhance our liquidity position.” 

“We have made significant progress, but this is just the start; within the pipeline are several other initiatives designed to reflect our commitment to a more sustainable and profitable way of doing business driven by our core strengths and capabilities,” added Al Ramadan. 

Looking ahead, the Group said it aims to successfully implement its three-year strategy (2016-2018).