Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group reported an 11.2% increase in net profit for the first half of 2024, reaching $60.75 million compared to $54.62 million during the same period last year, driven by growth in the bank’s investment and commercial banking division.
“We are delighted to report strong results and performance for the second quarter and first half of the year. For the quarter and six-month period, income grew significantly by more than 50% year-on-year, respectively, enabling us to enhance profitability in line with market forecasts further,” said Hisham Alrayes, CEO and Board Member at GFH.
Quarterly, GHF’s net profit rose by 9.8% to $33.61 million, bolstered by robust contributions from the group’s subsidiaries and its core investment management activities.
Earnings per share for the January-June period rose to $1.70, up from $1.55 in H1 2023, marking a 9.7% increase. GFH’s total comprehensive income for the first six months of the year increased by 28.75% to reach $67.31 million, compared to $52.28 million during the same period in 2023.
The banking group’s Q2 earnings per share jumped 9.3% increase year-on-year (YoY) to $0.94 while total comprehensive income grew by 13.35% to $31.41 million.
Despite achieving strong financial results, GFH’s total equity attributable to shareholders decreased by 2% to $969.42 million as of June 30, 2024, with total assets also dropping slightly by 2.1% to $10.89 billion.
GFH manages over $21 billion in assets and funds, including a global portfolio of investments in logistics, healthcare, education, and technology in the MENA region, Europe, and North America.
During the second quarter, GFH’s investment banking activities generated $41.97 million, including fees and income generated through various deals undertaken across the banking group’s core GCC and US markets and placed with its diverse investor base.
GFH Partners, the bank’s global real estate investment management arm, completed the placement of deals amounting to $165 million across the US and UK markets and successfully closed its US Industrial & Logistics Fund VII with a total transaction value of $300 million.
GFH exited its joint investment in Citrix with Carlyle 18 months ahead of the projected three-year timeline.
