Ithmaar Holding, Bank report profits

Ithmaar Holding and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ithmaar Bank, both reported profits for the year ended 31 December 2018 Ithmaar Holding’s net profit was US$10.06 million for the year ended 31 December 2018, as compared to a net loss of US$72.40m for 2017. Net loss attributable to equity holders for the year was US$23.98m, as compared to the US$84.71m net loss reported for the same period a year ago.

EPS improved to negative US Cents 0.82 compared from negative US Cents 2.91 for the same period in 2017. “The 2018 results show that net income before provision for impairment and overseas taxation for the year ended 31 December 2018 increased to US$43.42m, a 96.8 per cent increase from the US$22.10m reported for the same period last year,” said Ithmaar Holding Chairman Prince Amr Al Faisal.

“This was mainly due to higher share of profit after tax from associates resulting from reclassification from held-for-sale to associate during the period.” Operating income increased to US$259.82m, a 12.7pc increase from the US$230.56m reported for 2017. For the three-month period, net loss was US$1.28m, as compared to a net loss of US$56.2m for 2017. Net loss attributable to equity holders was US$26.71m, a decrease of 53.7pc as compared to a net loss of US$57.67m reported for the same period in 2017. EPS for the three-month period ended 31 December 2018 decreased by US Cents 0.92 compared to negative US Cents 1.98 for the same period in 2017.

Operating income for the three - month period was US$48.34m, a 2.3pc decrease from the US$49.48m reported for the same period in 2017. In December 2018, Ithmaar Holding’s other wholly-owned subsidiary, IB Capital, acquired, an additional stake in Solidarity Group Holding, one of the largest Takaful Group companies in Bahrain. As a result, Solidarity Group Holding became a subsidiary of IB Capital. During December 2018, Dilmunia Development Fund I L.P, a fund which is managed by Ithmaar’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ithmaar Bank, became subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank after the Bank’s shareholding in the company increased to more than 50 percent.

Ithmaar Holding Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdul Rahim, who is also the Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer, said that performance of both institutions against the challenging market conditions of 2018 further reconfirm that sustained efforts to turn the Group around are indeed paying off.