MANAMA, 5 November 2006 — Ithmaar Bank, a major publicly quoted investment bank based in Bahrain, announced yesterday that its consolidated net profits for the first nine months of this year soared to $161.7 million, compared to $20 million of the same period last year.
This new record figure follows on from the bank’s best-ever half-year performance, which saw profits reach $33.2 million, and even surpassing by more than four times the excellent 2005 full-year profit of $37.6 million. Operating profit surged equally impressively to $47.6 million at September-end 2006, an eight fold increase from $5.9 million at the same time last year.
“We’re delighted by the strong revenue growth, thanks to stellar performances from all areas of the bank’s core business as well as our associates and subsidiaries,” said an Ithmaar Bank spokesperson.
Group’s total equity also increased significantly by 289 percent, from $253 million at the beginning of the year to $985 million at September-end 2006.
The company also showed a healthy 28 percent increase on the net asset value per Share to $2.11 at September-end 2006 against $1.65 December-end 2005. “These results have re-confirmed our successful business strategy for this year, having only accounted for six weeks of the consolidated profits from Shamil Bank and FBL on this quarter.”
The bank’s assets stand firmly at $5 billion, including $1.8 billion in investment accounts under management, again another strong increase from the 2005 year-end investment accounts figure, which stood at $1.4 billion.
Earlier this year, Ithmaar Bank was reconstituted as a public shareholding company, now listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. Through a private placement and an initial public offering (IPO), the bank’s paid-up capital was increased to its current $360 million.
This was followed in August 2006 by the acquisition of a 60 percent shareholding in Shamil Bank, a leading commercial and investment bank based in Bahrain, listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE).
The bank then sold its 100 percent shareholding in the Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf (IICG) Bahamas to DMI Trust. The $150 million sale transaction, netted a profit of $104 million, which has been reflected in Ithmaar bank’s third quarter consolidated profits.
