United Arab Emirates, 23 March 2023: SHUAA Capital psc (DFM: SHUAA), the leading asset management and investment banking platform in the region, has received board approval for its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2022.

Group Financial Highlights

• AED 135 million net loss for fiscal year 2022 driven by one-off charges taken in first half of the year attributed to accelerated amortisation of intangible assets and other non-cash items
• AED 135.0 million EBITDA (vs. AED 54.7 million loss for FY 2021) reflects improving performance in underlying core operations, recurring revenue and cost discipline measures implemented
• Debt-to-Equity ratio improvement to 105% (vs. 134% in FY 2021) driven by c. AED 200 million debt repayments during the year and deconsolidation of c. AED 2 billion of non-recourse liabilities
• Simplification of balance sheet with deconsolidation of c. AED 2 billion of assets reducing the volatility of earnings in future and simplified capital structure of the Group

Segmental review

• Asset Management, which manages investment portfolios and funds in regional equities and provides investment solutions to clients, reported full-year revenue of AED 147 million compared to AED 211 million in 2021. The decline is primarily due to a one-off fee paid in 2021. During the year the Group also successfully completed its five-year portfolio management through its subsidiary, Astrea. The Group’s AUM at the end of Q4 2022 stands at USD 5.8 billion (post-handover of Astrea).
• Investment Banking, which provides corporate finance advisory, equity and debt capital markets, M&A expertise, private placements, structured investments and other services, reported a full-year revenue of AED 16 million compared to AED 29 million in 2021. The decline was due to reduced transactional and trading revenue in 2022.
• Corporate segment, which manages principal investments, corporate developments, treasury and other shared services related to the Company, reported a full-year revenue of AED 103 million compared to AED 82 million in 2021. This was driven primarily by strong performance in the online brokerage subsidiary, NCM. During the year, the Group deconsolidated c. AED 2billion of assets and liabilities from its balance sheet, which will reduce volatility of earnings going forward.

Strong initiatives on strategic transformation

• Launched three new Shariah-compliant funds, bringing assets under management (AuM) on a Shariah-compliant platform managed by SHUAA GMC Ltd*, a SHUAA wholly owned subsidiary, to USD 230 million. With this launch, the ICC umbrella now offers five funds catering for the strong investor appetite for diversification of their Sharia-compliant investments across geographies and asset classes.
• Announced the development of ‘Ocean House’, a prime waterfront property on Palm Jumeirah. This partnership marks the arrival of SHUAA subsidiary, London-based real estate firm Northacre in the region. Northacre also completed and began the handover of its landmark scheme in Central London, The Broadway as well as the No. 1 Palace Street, The St. Regis Residences.
• Created the largest portfolio of Marine Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV) in the region through the acquisition of Allianz Marine and Logistics Services Holding Limited (Allianz) by SHUAA’s managed funds, one of the largest deals in offshore space globally. Significant revenue and cost synergies and economies of scale are being achieved from the combination of two of the leading OSV operators in the region.

Commenting on SHUAA's 2022 results, Jassim Alseddiqi, Board Member and Managing Director of SHUAA Capital, said: "The past year was important for SHUAA as we have managed to sail with safety despite spiralling market volatility. The Group has taken advantage of the momentum and success built in the previous years and remained focused on identifying new opportunities. We will continue to provide pioneering investment solutions to our clients, as evidenced by the projects we completed and new products we launched.”

Commenting on SHUAA's 2022 results, Fawad Tariq Khan, Group Chief Executive Officer of SHUAA Capital, said: "2022 was a crucial year for SHUAA. We executed on a plan for a simpler, more focused financial services firm, built around client needs and innovative investments. As 2023 opens, we remain committed to our core mission and building on our leading franchise in the Middle East to grow our business and deliver significant value creation for our clients and shareholders.”

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