Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” (KSE: Markaz, Reuters: MARKZ.KW, Bloomberg: MARKAZ:KK) announced achieving a Net Profit attributable to shareholders of parent company stood at KD 1.72 million (EPS 4.0 Fils per share) for the period ending Q1 2018, at a margin of 34.8%. The company’s operating revenue reached KD 4.90 million during the Q1 2018, an increase of 7% on a y-o-y basis.
Mr. Manaf A. Alhajeri, CEO of Markaz, said in a statement, “I am pleased to announce a successful Q1 2018 for Markaz from a financial perspective. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment and growing market risks, our business achieved 7% increase in the operating revenue compared to the same period in 2017. This increase is mainly driven by the increase in management fees & commissions by 45%, with asset management fees up by 56.0% and investment banking fees up by 21.2%. Moreover, our total AUM increased to KD 1.042 billion as of March 2018 from 1.027 billion on a q-o-q basis.
He added: The company continues to seek the best opportunities to create sustainable wealth for its clients in local and international markets. Internally, Markaz continues to improve its internal systems and implement technologies to optimize the efficiency of our operations across its wide array of services, which includes asset management, real estate investment management and development, financial advisory services, establishing and managing investment funds across various asset classes, and custody services. In addition, the inherent strength of our research, advisory and investment approach will drive long term sustainable growth for all of Markaz’s stakeholders.”