First Energy Bank (FEB), an Islamic investment bank based in Bahrain, has announced a net profit of $14.2 million in 2009, its first full year of operations, when compared to $42,000 in 2008.

The FEB also reported a gross income of $47.41 million for 2009 when compared to $17.03 million in 2008. The bank's total assets surged to $1.23 billion last year from $1.02 billion in 2008.

Commenting on the results, Vahan Zanoyan, chief executive officer of FEB, said, 'We have been building FEB on a stable foundation, based on the strength of our investor base, the strength of our team, and the knowledge and understanding we have of the energy industry and its potential.'

“We are very pleased with where we are today, as can be seen from our results for last year, which was in fact our first full year of operations, and which are due ultimately to the strategic business activities we undertook over the course of the year,” he continued.

FEB is a relatively new institution, established in late 2008 with an authorized capital of $1 billion. The bank counts a range of organizations and individuals with interests in the energy sector from Bahrain, the UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and other countries throughout the region amongst its shareholders.

'Our priority remains the implementation of our investment strategy, including the adoption of a diversified portfolio spanning the entire breadth of the energy value chain, from petrochemicals and hydrocarbons, to alternative and renewable energy sources,' Zanoyan explained.

'As we look to the year ahead, we have set ourselves a challenging, yet achievable, objective of doubling our current balance sheet, through continuing to maintain a strong deal flow through our pipeline,' he noted.

Among its achievements in 2009, FEB successfully established, in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Project Management and Development (PMD) company, the largest Polysilicon production facility in both the Kingdom and the Mena region, Zanoyan said.

Set to become one of the lowest cost producers of Polysilicon products, this strategic investment marks the entrance of FEB into the alternative energy industry, he stated.

Additionally, FEB acquired a significant stake in the Al Dur Independent Water and Power Production (IWPP) project, with an investment of $50 million, which is equal to a nine per cent stake in the project.

Last year also saw the successful consolidation of FEB’s inaugural project, MENAdrill, an offshore drilling venture, which plans to compete on a regional level and become one of the largest private sector drilling companies in the Mena regionm, he explained.

In addition, FEB successfully concluded the purchase of 40 per cent of ADWOC (Arab Drilling and work over company) one of the leading oil and gas onshore contract drill companies based out of Libya, from Global Santa Fe.

“2010 is looking like an even more promising year to us, as we have now established a presence in the region and are ready to begin acting on many of the potential investment opportunities in our pipeline.  We expect 2010 to become yet another monumental year for FEB,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service