QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank and one of the region’s prominent Islamic financial institutions, yesterday said its revenues increased 6 percent to QR416m for the year 2016 compared to a year ago. Operating profits of the investment bank increased 3 percent to QR220m and assets increased by 5 percent to QR4.69bn in 2016.
QInvest reported QR22.5m in net profits attributed to shareholders following a prudent provisioning policy that will enable the Firm to absorb any unpredictable market shocks without interruption to its business. The overall health of the Firm remains strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 36 percent and cash and cash equivalents remaining at higher levels than 2015, exceeding QR687m. Revenues during the year came from across all three business lines – investment banking, principal investments and asset management. They were generated from a variety of activities including advisory services, financing activities, private equity and fund investments, in addition to fees from discretionary managed accounts. These revenues were also generated across multiples geographies, which demonstrated the diversity and strength of all of the business lines.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairman of QInvest’s Board of Directors said, “The economic uncertainty and geopolitical changes during 2016 affected markets across the world. QInvest’s investments were impacted by this challenging environment, however, the de-risking measures we have put in place, including the setting of higher provision rates, enabled the Firm to counter-balance the impact on its portfolio. Our team continued to implement our strategy, which we launched three years ago, focusing on diversification and risk-adjusted returns. We remain committed to this approach during 2017”.
Tamim Hamad Al Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest, said, “The market environment during 2016 presented a mix of challenges which we managed to successfully navigate and achieve positive operating performance. We are pleased with the growth of our revenues and operating profit. It demonstrated the effectiveness of our diversification strategy".
