Gatehouse Bank continues its solid performance into Q1 of 2013
Gatehouse Bank plc (Gatehouse), a Shariah compliant bank based in the City of London, announced another quarter of solid financial results for the period ending 31 March 2013. Total income amounted to USD 6.3million (GBP 4.2million) and represented an increase of 78% compared to the first quarter of 2012. Net profit for the first quarter was USD 3.0million (GBP2.0m), an increase of 172% from the same period of last year. The Bank further reports that its performance for the first quarter was significantly favourable to the YTD financial budget at income, costs and profit levels.
Income is driven by strong assets under management following a busy period of acquisition in 2012. Despite the difficult economic environment, the Bank has built an impressive record of over USD 1.5 billion (GBP 1 billion) real estate acquisitions since December 2009, making it an active and reputable institutional investor in the market over the last three years. Acquisition is done directly or through the established Sterling UK Real Estate Fund. A strong contribution of its income for the quarter arose from the partial realisation of some core holdings in listed equities and investment grade ‘sukuks’ which contributed income of USD3.4m (GBP 2.2 million). The Bank underlined the significance of this income being a result of the strategy to diversify its balance sheet allocations as well as creating a track record to seed the newly established Wealth Management business for its client base. Importantly for the Bank, the sustainability and profitability from the Wealth Management business allows the Bank to focus on building a stronger and healthier pipeline of Real Estate transactions for the future. With more than 50% of its balance sheet readily convertible into cash or cash equivalents, the Bank now has leeway for further allocation into its various business lines.
Mr. Fahed Boodai, Chairman and Acting CEO at Gatehouse Bank plc, said: “2013 has started strongly for Gatehouse Bank plc and I am hugely excited that we are continuing the upward trajectory from 2012. I am more pleased to report that we are progressively and diligently diversifying our balance sheet and business lines and demonstrate the outcome of our capital and wealth preservation strategy to the shareholders of the Bank and the client base. It is an important assessment that the Bank is meeting its long-term business plan. The reporting of a strong set of financial results ahead of budget demonstrates a sustainable and profitable core business model that provides the optimum platform for the future of the Bank”.