DUBAI: Bahrain-based Investcorp is responding to the election of US President Donald Trump and Brexit by seeking investments in US business services and British real estate, the private equity firm’s Co-Chief Executive Rishi Kapoor said.
Investcorp, which expects its assets under management to rise to around $21 billion in the first half of 2017, on Thursday reported a fall in profit to $35.6 million in the six months to Dec. 31 from $50.9 million in the prior-year period.
This was largely due to the writedown of a real estate investment in the US which it bought before the global financial crisis, Kapoor told Reuters on a call.
Among potential investments in the US, Europe and the Gulf, Investcorp was looking for opportunities created by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and uncertainty over whether Trump’s US administration would deploy fiscal stimulus and the pace of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
“As a consequence (of the uncertainty) in the US, the kind of businesses we are focusing on are those resilient to cyclical downturns,” Kapoor said, adding that business services was one area in particular where it was looking for opportunities.
Kapoor said US-based AlixPartners, the global advisory firm it agreed to acquire ownership stakes in along with other investors in November, was an example of this thinking.
In Britain, Investcorp was looking at real estate assets with a long-term horizon in order to overcome any market volatility in the next two or three years, he said.
The pound’s slump since June’s Brexit vote has encouraged investors from some Middle Eastern markets linked to the US dollar to look for openings in the property market.
Investcorp, which was founded in 1982, is one of the oldest Middle Eastern private equity houses and is best known outside the region for listing luxury goods brands such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co.
It has increasingly branched out into other sectors and set out a goal in 2015 to more than double its assets under management in the next five to seven years to $25 billion.
In a big step toward achieving that goal it agreed to buy 3i Group’s debt-management business in October. When that deal closes in the first half of 2017, Investcorp said its assets under management will reach around $21 billion.
Bahrain’s Investcorp targets US service sector, UK property
Bahrain’s Investcorp targets US service sector, UK property
Bahri profit rises 12% to $647m in 2025 as oil shipping boosts earnings
RIYADH: The National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia, also known as Bahri, posted a 12.07 percent increase in annual profit as stronger tanker earnings and higher global freight rates boosted results.
Net profit attributable to shareholders reached SR2.43 billion ($647.46 million) in 2025, compared with SR2.17 billion a year earlier, according to a filing on Saudi Exchange.
Revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, rose 9.12 percent to SR10.35 billion, compared with SR9.48 billion in 2024, while gross profit increased 14.71 percent to SR3.10 billion.
Highlighting the main reason for the increase in net profit during the current year, the company said: “The increase in gross profit of Bahri Oil BU by SR755 million mainly due to improved operational performance and global shipping rates during the current year compared to the last year.”
It added: “The increase in the company’s share of results of equity-accounted investees by SR134 million during the current year compared to the last year.
However, the gains were partly offset by declines in other areas. Gross profit from the chemicals business unit fell by SR324 million, while the integrated logistics unit recorded a SR37 million decrease.
The company’s operating profit climbed 4.67 percent year on year to SR2.73 billion, reflecting improved operational performance across several business units.
Bahri said the increase in revenue was driven primarily by higher activity in multiple divisions, particularly its oil business unit, where revenue rose by SR1.26 billion due to increased operational activity and higher global shipping rates.
The growth in revenue was partially offset by lower performance in other segments.
Revenue from the chemicals business unit declined by SR396 million, while the dry bulk unit recorded a decrease of SR87 million compared with the previous year.
Bahri also reported a SR138 million decline in other income, mainly due to lower capital gains from vessel sales.
The company recorded SR216 million in gains from vessel sales in the previous year compared with SR6 million in the current year. Higher general and administrative expenses and increased finance costs also weighed on profitability.
Total comprehensive income attributable to shareholders reached SR2.38 billion, up 8.65 percent from SR2.19 billion in the previous year.
Total shareholders’ equity rose 12.07 percent to SR15.27 billion, compared with SR13.63 billion a year earlier, while earnings per share increased to SR2.63 from SR2.35.
Separately, Bahri’s board of directors recommended the distribution of cash dividends totaling SR922.85 million for the 2025 fiscal year, equivalent to SR1 per share.
The proposed dividend represents 10 percent of the share’s par value and will be distributed to shareholders owning 922.85 million eligible shares, subject to approval at the company’s upcoming general assembly meeting. The eligibility and distribution dates will be announced at a later stage.
