MANAMA, BAHRAIN – 30 March 2020 – Ithmaar Holding B.S.C. (Trading symbol: ITHMR), a Bahrain-based holding company, hosted today (ed note: 30/03/20) its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where the consolidated financial statements for 2019 were approved.
The meeting was chaired by Elham Ebrahim Abdulla Hasan, an independent, non-executive Board Member of the Ithmaar Holding Board of Directors.
To meet directives from the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to limit public gatherings to help contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Ithmaar Holding arranged for key participants, including representatives from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MOICT), the Bahrain Bourse, and the Company’s statutory auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to attend through video conferencing. The Company had also made arrangements to allow shareholders to attend from nearby conference rooms through video conferencing.
“On behalf of the Chairman of the Ithmaar Holding Board of Directors, His Royal Highness, Prince Amr Al Faisal and Members of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to report that efforts to significantly transform the Group’s operations in line with the strategic decisions taken by shareholders in 2016 are continuing to pay off, and that Ithmaar Holding concluded another positive year in 2019,” said Ms Hasan. “In particular, we are pleased to announce that Ithmaar Holding reported a net profit attributable to equity holders for the year ended 31 December 2019 of US$0.67 million, a 102.8 percent increase compared to the net loss attributable to equity holders of US$23.98 million reported for 2018. The 2019 profit was mainly due to growth in core income, and is testimony to the fact that efforts to turn the Group around by focusing on core retail banking business are indeed paying off,” she said.
Earnings Per Share (EPS) for the year ended 31 December 2019 improved to US Cents 0.02, an 102.8 percent increase compared to negative US Cents (0.82) for 2018. EPS for the quarter ended 31 December 2019 were US Cents (0.39), a 57.4 percent increase compared to US Cents (0.92) for the negative period in 2018.
Total net profit for the year ended 31 December 2019 was US$12.2 million, a 21.3 percent increase compared to the net profit of US$10.06 million reported for 2018, mainly due to growth in core income.
Total income for the year ended 31 December 2019 was US$525.46 million, a 19.8 percent increase compared to the total income of US$438.55 million reported for 2018. Operating income for the year ended 31 December 2019 was US$296.20 million, a 14 percent increase compared to the US$259.82 million reported for 2018.
Ithmaar Holding Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdul Rahim, said the 2019 results were further confirmation that the Company is heading in the right direction.
“Ithmaar Holding’s 2019 results set the stage for future growth as we continue the Group’s transformation to sustainable profitability,” said Abdul Rahim. “The Company’s achievements, including its improved financial performance in 2019, would not have been possible without the continued support of our shareholders and the guidance of our regulators,” he said.
“We take this opportunity to thank the members of the Board of Directors and the Sharia Supervisory Board and all our shareholders, as well as the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the Bahrain Bourse, the Dubai Financial Market and Boursa Kuwait,” said Abdul Rahim. “We take this opportunity, also, to thank the Boards of the Directors and the management of our subsidiaries,” he said.
This press release and the full set of consolidated financial statements are available on the Bahrain Bourse website.
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