Mumtalakat posts highest net profit since inception

TDT | Manama                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, announced financial results for the year ended 31st December 2021, recording the highest net profit since inception, which the group attributed to the improved operational performance of Alba, a principal company of the Group, and lower impairment losses.

Furthermore, Mumtalakat said it paid dividends to the shareholder of BD20 million as a contribution to the national budget. The unprecedented record result, Khalid Al Rumaihi, the CEO of Mumtalakat, said, was the result of the implementation of Mumtalakat’s new investment strategy, which focuses on the active ownership model to extract value from the company’s portfolio assets through an active management approach, effective board representation, and providing strategic expertise.

Results Mumtalakat recorded a standalone profit for 2021 of BD 45.6 m compared to a loss of BD 550.7 m for 2020. The results represent solely the activities of Mumtalakat as an entity. Dividend income was BD63.3 m compared to BD49.2 m for the year 2020, and profits before impairments amounted to BD71.3 m compared to BD68.3 m for the year 2020.

Results rebounded robustly from the previous year which was impacted by the Coronavirus COVID-19 global pandemic. The Group results represent the activities of Mumtalakat and the results of its portfolio companies which recorded a consolidated net profit of BD 329 m in 2021 as compared to a consolidated net loss of BD 528 m in 2020.

The significant improvement in net results is attributed to the improved operational performance of Alba, a principal company of the Group, and lower impairment losses. Revenue increased by 34% from BD 1.6 billion in 2020 to BD 2.2 bn in 2021 primarily driven by higher LME prices.

It is worth mentioning that Alba registered a record net profit for the year of BD 452 m compared to a net profit of BD 9.8 m in the prior year. The increase in net profit is primarily due to higher LME prices of aluminum in 2021 and the increase in production and sales resulting from its line 6 expansion.

In addition, the aviation industry experienced modest recovery due to lifting of travel restrictions which resulted in an increase in Gulf Air ticket sales. The Group's principal associates, National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) continued to report strong results.

The Group’s share of profits from Batelco and NBB for 2021 were BD 22.6 m and BD 21.9 m respectively (2020: BD 20.3 m and BD 10.8 m respectively).