ANKARA: Revenues increased to $92.5 million (QAR337 million) up 18 per cent compared to the same period in 2015, while operating profits increased to $50 million (QAR182 million) up 19 per cent in the same period. QInvest attributed the rise to a combination of increased fee income, exits in the firm’s investments and investment activities across its different business lines. QInvest’s balance sheet stands at $189 million (QAR 687 million) of liquidity and a regulatory capital adequacy ratio of 35 per cent.
“Our results over the first nine months of this year and our overall performance over the last three years have come directly as a result of our strategy to build a diversified portfolio of investments, grow our assets under management and provide best in class products and advisory services to our clients across all of our business lines,” Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, CEO of QInvest, said. “We remain cautious in the face of continued market volatility and after conducting a thorough review of our portfolio, we have exited a number of higher risk financing investments at a significant profit and increased our risk buffers for the remaining portfolio. These profitable exits have enabled us to crystallise double digit returns in part of our balance sheet as well as build a strong cash balance to take advantage of future opportunities in a market where liquidity commands a premium,” he added.
QInvest’s Investment Banking and Real Estate Advisory businesses reported the strongest pipeline to date, with mandates across equity, debt, and M&A transactions among regional institutional and family office clients. In the year, QInvest completed two landmark transactions with the sale of Miramax to beIN Media Group and the acquisition of a stake in the Empire State Building owner by one of its clients. In the previous quarter, QInvest created a separate Credit Investments and Debt Finance business and is working on a number of mandates to raise financing for clients, both from banks and through Sukuk.
QInvest said that the Real Estate principal investment unit has continued to focus on defensive yielding equity opportunities in addition to conservative financing capital deployment, with the geographic focus on the US, Germany/western Europe, and the UK. It said that the business is in the process of closing two high yielding financing transaction which will deliver strong risk-adjusted returns in 2016 and 2017. Additionally, the business is looking to invest into co-sponsored general partnership platform that will seek to raise capital from limited partners. The investment structure will focus on multifamily transactions in the US.
Qinvest also reported that the Asset Management division’s funds and portfolios remain strong despite highly volatile markets over the summer months, with the post Post-FTSE inclusion sell off in the GCC, the failed coup attempt in Turkey and a number of headlines indicating a ‘hard’ Brexit. “These events have served to show the value added by active management in challenging markets. There has been a strong focus on new product development in partnership with international fund managers,” the Group said in its financial report statement.
