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Briefing the media … Kapoor (left) and Al Shroogi.

Investcorp eyes Bahrain industrial sector

MANAMA, September 23, 2014

By Avinash Saxena

Bahrain-based Investcorp, an alternative investment manager with more than $11 billion of assets under management, will be making its first-ever investments in the kingdom within the next few years, said a top official.

"Bahrain has some good opportunities in areas such as industrials, education, healthcare and retail, that we are looking at," Investcorp Gulf Business president Mohammed Al Shroogi told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

He was speaking during a media briefing held after an annual general meeting of shareholders at its headquarters.

The company came close to a deal with a gas manufacturing company in Bahrain but it fell through, he added.

In the GCC region, Investcorp does not have any investments in Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.

"We are investing in our Gulf franchise, so we can provide a gold standard service to our clients and address their needs," stated Al Shroogi.

"To this end, we have opened new offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, and we expect to be opening an office in Doha soon. We have also invested in our resources and we have almost doubled the number of relationship managers across all our Gulf markets," he added.

Al Shroogi said the group will continue to leverage the trust of clients built over the last 30 years to offer them attractive corporate, real estate and hedge fund investment opportunities in the US, Europe and the Gulf region.

Reviewing performance for the fiscal year ended June 30 (2013-14), Investcorp's chief financial officer Rishi Kapoor said the firm saw 25 per cent growth in net income at $312 million and 84 per cent growth in earnings per share over the prior year.

Return on average equity for the year was 16 per cent, he added.

Investcorp returned $1.3 billion in proceeds from realisations and distributions during the year. "The year marks five consecutive years of profit reflecting a sustained and robust recovery from the financial crisis of 2008-2009," he added.

Since the end of 2008-09, Investcorp has seen its book value per ordinary share grow by 64 per cent, while delivering aggregate earnings of $401 per share and an average return on equity of 11.4 per cent per annum.

According to him, Investcorp has over the last five years distributed $5.8 billion from profitable realisations on investments.

"We have raised $7 billion in new funds from investors globally over the five years... $2.5 billion of which has been invested by Gulf-based clients in deal-by-deal offerings with the remaining $4.5 billion being allocated to hedge funds," he said.

"Our deals have been in multiple sectors and asset classes to diversify risk and optimise return potential for our clients," observed Kapoor.

The firm's capital adequacy ratio is 30 per cent; leverage has reduced by 62 per cent; and it has no debt maturities for the next three years, he stateed. "Our existing cash position almost fully covers the next five years' of debt maturities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | Investcorp | retail | industrial |

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