Al Baraka Group reports Q1 profit

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Baraka Group announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The Group announced a net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company at US$39 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to US$41m for the same period of 2023, reflecting a 6% decline. Earnings per share stood at 3.23 US cents compared to 3.42 US cents in Q1 2023. This was mainly due to the low profitability in Units where the Group had higher stakes in comparison to other Units, owing to the significant rise in costs of funding in spite of higher profits from financing and investments; the negative foreign currency translation effect was another factor that contributed to the decline.

The Group also announced a decline in total comprehensive income attributable to the Group’s shareholders, reporting a loss of US$60m, which is higher by 137% compared to a loss of US$25m in the same period last year, which is mainly due to the negative foreign currency translation reserve in Turkey and Egypt. The Group recorded a 6% rise in its net income at US$77m for the period ended March 31st 2024, compared to US$73m for the same period in 2023.

This was primarily driven by higher profits from financing and investments across most of the Group’s Units, and lower provisions, despite higher costs of funding and the negative foreign currency translation effect.

The equity attributable to the parent’s shareholders and Sukuk holders reduced by 6% totalling US$1.18 billion by the end of Q1 2024, compared to US$1.25bn at the end of December 2023, due to the increase in foreign currency translation reserves.

In terms of total equity, Al Baraka reported US$1.87bn at the end of Q1 2024, compared to US$1.97bn at the end of December 2023, resulting in a 5% decrease.

The total assets of the Group also declined to US$24.81bn at the end of the first quarter of 2024, compared to US$25.26bn at the end of 2023, i.e. a 2% reduction, as a result of the depreciation of regional currencies against the US dollar in many of the markets in which the Group operates, including Turkey and Egypt.

Sheikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Group, stated: “Despite the wave of inflation overtaking the global economy, the Group has achieved a resilient and stable financial performance in our balance sheet, reflecting the efficiency of both our investment approach and our operating expenses framework.

Given the current geopolitical challenges, crises and economic setbacks across some of the financial markets in which we operate, we plan to strengthen our efforts aimed at seizing all potential avenues for growth by exploring various investment opportunities and expanding our operational capabilities using the latest digital and innovative management solutions. Moving forward, we will be focusing on strengthening our financial results and enhancing our profits to firm up our industry position.”

Houssem Ben Haj Amor, board member and Group CEO said: “Despite the devaluation of local currencies in some of the regional markets we operate in, particularly in Turkey and Egypt, as well as the impact of higher cost of funding, and the increasing risk of credit defaults, we are witnessing an overall improvement in the Group’s financial performance compared to last year, particularly in the net income.

In the midst of this volatile economic landscape, we were able in 2024 to distribute dividends for the 2023 year to our shareholders, which we have not been able to do since 2019. We are also closely monitoring the situation in the Group’s Units in Lebanon and Sudan, given the difficult political and economic circumstances there.

With the help of Allah Almighty, we stand ready to face any challenges resulting from these fluctuations and limit their repercussions, as we do not expect them to negatively affect our financial performance in the coming period.

We look forward to seizing all investment and innovation opportunities that ensure growth across our Units and sustainably support the Group’s profits.”