KUWAIT: KAMCO Investment Company K.S.C. (Public), a leading investment company with one of the largest AUMs in the region and a winner of the prestigious Kuwait Asset Manager of the Year Award 2015, announced its financial results for the first half ended June 30, 2015. The company recorded a net profit of KD 145,000 with earnings-pershare (EPS) of 0.61 fils. Operationally, KAMCO maintained Assets Under Management at KD 3.48 billion ($11.5 billion). KAMCO’s fee income for the first half of the year stood at KD 2.41 million, a slight growth of 2% over KD 2.37 million earned in first half of 2014. The company’s investment funds saw positive activity.
The KAMCO Real Estate Yield Fund (KREYF), launched in 2014, successfully distributed cash dividends of 1.7% in the first quarter (covering the period from the Fund’s initial establishment until the end of the first quarter) and 1% in the second quarter of 2015. KREYF invests in attractive and yielding real estate opportunities in targeted markets (GCC countries and/or other MENA countries),utilizing a balanced and well thought of investment policy. During the first half of the year, KAMCO launched the KAMCO MENA Plus Fixed Income Fund, which aims to achieve relatively high returns as compared to returns of the bank short-term interest by primarily investing in a portfolio of MENA Conventional Bonds and Islamic Sukuks diversified by country, sector, issuer and credit structure. Moreover, KAMCO’s managed equity funds performed better than their respective benchmarks.
On this occasion, Faisal M.Sarkhou, CEO of KAMCO, said,”Equity markets, international as well as regional, remained volatile in the first half of 2015 due to Greece’s debtcrisisand the troubled geo-political environment in the region.” Sarkhou added, “Uncertainty in the regional equity markets continues to prevail due to multiple factors that affected markets across the region. These include the continued weakness in oil price, the possibility of a hard landing in China, USD strength and the frail economic situation in Europe.” Based on the current trend toward strengthening the investment funds, Sarkhou emphasized KAMCO’s dedication and commitment toprovide the best client-centric services, alongside launching new products that target safe and cash-generating investments with attractive yields. He said, “We are cautiously optimistic that recent developments will, in the medium-tolongterm, offer new opportunities to businesses and investors alike and we are gearing ourselves by focusing on our core operations, offering better and efficient client-centric services and new products geared towards safety, liquidity and returns.” Sarkhou added, “The continual increase in our AUM and client base, combined with our proven track record of providing our clients with financial solutions, allow us to continue strategically positioning ourselves as one of the leading investment companies in Kuwait and the region.”
