The National Investor (TNI), one of Abu Dhabi's leading investment management and advisory firms, said it has achieved a five-fold increase in its first quarter net profit despite difficult economic conditions.

Announcing the results on Saturday, TNI chairman Abdullah M. Mazrui said the company's net profit for for the year ending March 31, 2010 surged to Dh30.8 million ($8.83 million) from Dh6 million last year.

'It gives me great pleasure to speak about TNI’s impressive financial performance during a challenging economic climate, said an elated  Mazrui.

'The year 2009-10 was a year in which we focused on our strategy of building a robust and broad product offering to meet the evolving needs of our clients, who rely on us for independent advice and our local perspective,' the official stated.

'Since inception, we have been driven by our conservative and cautious approach to growth.  Nowhere has this been more clearly validated than our ability to weather the financial crisis so effectively through prudent fiscal management,' he noted.

Commenting on the results, Orhan Osmansoy, CEO of TNI said, 'We continue to deliver positive results and identify opportunities for growth even in an uncertain economic environment. Our balance sheet is untainted and we remain committed to supporting our clients and their businesses, and delivering superior returns to our shareholders.'

'We and our clients were not immune from the global economic downturn but we have managed to mitigate the risks to our shareholders’ equity and clients’ investments by adopting the highest standards of corporate governance and risk management.'

'Furthermore, our increased focus on realigning our cost structure has streamlined operations,' he noted.

In response to the global economic downturn, the firm has sought to reassure investors by re-domiciling its Mena Real Estate Active Fund to Bermuda, Osmansoy pointed out.

“We believe this will give investors increased comfort in the security of the product, following the financial crisis,” he commented.

Furthermore, the UAE Blue Chip Fund and Mena Real Estate Active Fund had their ‘A’-ratings reconfirmed from Standard and Poor’s, who commended TNI for “achieving solid track records and consistency of performance as compared to funds with similar objectives.” 

On its future plans, Osmansoy said TNI plans to launch its Mena UCITS III Fund in July this year, a long only equity fund with a seed capital of Dh100 million,' Osmansoy said. This comes as part of its effort to continue enhancing its products and services offering, he added.

Further more, TNI will tie up with Kipco Asset Management Company to jointly launch a Shariah-compliant private equity fund, with a seed capital of $20 million, said the company CEO.

The fund will focus on liquidity constrained situations and opportunities in turnarounds, primary and secondary buyouts, recapitalisations, and other special situations, he added.-TradeArabia News Service