Bahrain-based International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally-focused Islamic investment bank, has posted solid growth registering a $8.2 million net profit for 2012, compared to a net loss of $9.4 million a year ago.

Announcing the results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012, IIB said the total income increased from $3.1 million in 2011 to $14.2 million largely due to a gain of $8.7 million from the sale of assets by an associate and $3.2 million from investment banking fees.

The share of profits from associates increased from a loss of $3.4 million in 2011 to a profit of $4 million in 2012. Last year also saw the acquisition of three new long-term assets at a value of $22.9 million.

Commenting on the results, chairman Saeed Abdul Jalil Mohammed Al Fahim said: "The turnaround in the bank’s financial performance as reflected in our net profit of $8.2 million in 2012 is a reflection of our cautious investment and exit strategy, which demands fulfillment of the bank’s stringent criteria in order to generate an attractive return on investment for our shareholders."

"At IIB last year, we augmented our total revenues by successfully exiting some of our assets through an associate and increasing our income from investment banking fees," he observed.

“With the continued contraction of many world economies and weaker than expected growth in others, we believe our investment strategy is one that sustains even during a challenging market environment. In Bahrain last year, we witnessed glimpses of recovery in the private sector and national economy and we look forward to seeing this continue in 2013,” he added.

Aabed Al-Zeera, the CEO and board member said, "Under the auspices mentioned by our chairman, despite the market slowdown we acquired three new long-term assets costing a total of $22.9 million, and increased our shareholding by $3.4 million in two of our existing investments."

"The market slowdown, particularly in Europe and the political uncertainty many Mena countries faced, has meant that exit opportunities were limited during the year, but the bank continued to actively market the mature investments under its management to potential buyers, in order to achieve exits at attractive prices," he noted..

On the 2013 outlook, Al-Zeera said, "I remain confident that going forward, IIB will deliver long-term value as we continue to focus on accelerating our business growth with continued operational stability in the short term and sustainable profitability in the long term."

IIB maintains a diverse portfolio of global investments covering different regions such as GCC, Europe (UK, France, Germany), Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina), North Africa (Tunisia), and Asia (Azerbaijan), across varied sectors including manufacturing, automotive, real estate, banking and retail.-TradeArabia News Service