GFH Financial Group net profit attributable to shareholders rises 13.9% to $42.18m

Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group recently announced its financial results for H1 2022.

The group reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of $23.06m for the second quarter of the year up 10.2 per cent compared with $20.92m for the second quarter of 2021, reflecting continued steady growth and progress. Major contributions included income generated from the placement of the group’s global investments, commercial banking business and sustainable infrastructure platform.  Earnings per share for the second quarter was US cents 0.67 compared to US cents 0.68 for the comparative quarter of 2021.

Total income for the second quarter of 2022 was $91.95m compared to $90.62m for the second quarter of 2021, a rise of 1.5 per cent. Consolidated net profit for the second quarter was $26.03m compared with $24.81m in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 4.9 per cent. Total expenses for the second quarter were $65.92m compared to $65.82m in the comparative period of 2021, an increase of 0.2 per cent.

Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 13.9 per cent to $42.18m for the first half of 2022 compared with $37.04m in the first six months of 2021. Earnings per share for the period was US cents 1.22 compared to US cents 1.21 for the first six months of 2021.

Total income for H1 2022 was $182.76m versus $181.01m for the 2021 period, an increase of  1 per cent. Consolidated net profit for the six-month period increased by 2.8 per cent to $45.38m compared with $44.15m in the first six months of 2021. Total expenses for the period were $137.39m up 0.4 per cent from $136.87m for the first six months of 2021.

Total equity attributable to shareholders was $0.98bn as of June 30, up 1.61 per cent from $0.96bn at year-end 2021. Total assets of the group were $8.52bn as of June 30 compared with $8.08bn as of December 31 2021, an increase of 5.4 per cent.

Ghazi Al Hajeri, chairman of GFH, said, “We’re very pleased with the group’s continued steady performance for the first half of the year. In line with our strategy of diversification, we further built our portfolio of investments across the Middle East, Europe and the US and listed our shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). GFH’s fourth listing on a regional exchange, the move aligns with efforts to broaden our geographic reach and shareholder base and enhance visibility among key global and regional investors as we enter another phase of growth.

“During the period, we also successfully spun out the group’s infrastructure and real estate assets into Infracorp, which was capitalised with more than $1bn in infrastructure and developed assets. The aim is to accelerate growth and investments in sustainable infrastructure assets and environments across the Gulf and internationally, an area of significant opportunity and one in line with our focus on furthering embedding ESG principles and impact into the heart of our business, investments and development principles. With positive momentum from the first half of the year, we look forward to maintaining our upward trajectory and creating even greater value for our investors and shareholders.”

Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, added, “During the period, we acquired a majority stake in SQ Asset Management, a US-based student housing specialist, strengthening our presence in the US real estate sector and supporting new transactions of approximately US$0.5bn in the student housing space during the first half of the year alone.

“Our commercial banking subsidiary, KHCB, has also performed well during the period, continuing to increase its contributions after a successful turnaround.  We are also very proud that Infracorp, which was launched in January of this year, has already announced good profits during its first reporting period. We expect even further progress in these key areas of our business And the continued expansion of our investment activities, deal flow and global footprint. This remains a priority in the forthcoming periods as we actively pursue organic and inorganic growth with an eye towards delivering even stronger results during the remainder of 2022.”

Currently, GFH manages over US$15bn of assets and funds including a global portfolio of investments in logistics, healthcare, education and technology in the MENA region, Europe and North America.