First Energy Bank (FEB), a leading Islamic investment bank headquartered in Bahrain, has registered a net profit of $3.96 million for the first quarter thus giving a solid and positive start to the year.

Announcing the results on Sunday, FEB chairman Esam Janahi said the bank recorded a gross income of $10.32 million, while its total assets surged to $1.24 billion. Additionally, the total equity attributable to shareholders rose slightly to $1.01 billion, he added.

Commenting on the results, Janahi said, 'The first quarter’s achievements were considered a solid and positive start to the year, and are testament to the attractive investment opportunities we are continuing to provide to our investors.'

'We have set some strategically important goals for 2010, and we fully expect to achieve these goals and make 2010 into another successful year for the Bank,' he remarked.

Despite the fact that FEB is a relatively new institution, we are strongly placed with solid backing from investor base, intact capital and tireless teams working to tap the multitude of investment opportunities that have shown up on radar over the past few months,” he added.

Commenting on the way forward, Vahan Zanoyan, CEO of First Energy Bank, said, “Our strategy remains the building of a well diversified portfolio of quality assets in the global energy sector, spanning the entire breadth of the energy value chain, from upstream oil and gas production, to petrochemical, distribution, energy logistics and renewable energy sources.”

The first quarter was marked by FEB with the floating of the first of two “Friede & Goldman Super M2” jackup off shore drilling rigs, which are being constructed at the Maritime Industrial Services Company (MIS) yard in Sharjah.

On the successful launch of the MENAdrill Hercules I rig, Zanoyan, said:  “MENAdrill was established by FEB as our inaugural project, and we are proud of the work that has gone into making this success possible.”

Last year also saw the establishment of the Saudi Polysilicon Project; the largest Polysilicon production facility of its kind in both Saudi Arabia and the Mena region, which is set to become one of the lowest cost producers of Polysilicon products globally.

This project marks the bank's foray into the alternative energy industry, an industry that has recently come into the spotlight in the region as whole.

FEB also acquired a significant stake (nine per cent) in the Al Dur Independent Water and Power Production (IWPP) project, one of the biggest power generation plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A final success was realized by FEB with the successful purchase of 40 per cent of ADWOC (Arab Drilling and work over company), one of the leading oil and gas onshore contract drilling companies based out of Libya, from Global Santa Fe.

FEB is relatively a new institution, established in late 2008 with a paid up capital of $1 billion. The Bank’s shareholders base include a range of organizations and individuals with an interest in the energy sector from Bahrain, UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and other countries throughout the region.-TradeArabia News Service