Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the investment company for the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009.
It reported a 28 per cent decrease in revenue to BD1.038 billion compared to the BD1.448 billion for the 12 months to December 31, 2008.
The macro-economic conditions had an adverse effect on Gulf Air, and also led to a fall in the LME price of aluminium, resulting in a fall in revenues at Alba.
Although Alba registered a net loss for the year (primarily attributable to unrealised losses on mark-to-market derivatives and a one-time restructuring charge), it generated positive cash flows from operations.
On a consolidated basis, Mumtalakat registered an operating loss of BD123 million.
The net loss after taking into consideration interest expense, fair value loss on derivatives and impairment losses was BD183 million compared to a net loss of BD69 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.
In addition to activities relating to operational restructuring and the review and alignment of the strategy to market conditions, during 2009 several initiatives were also undertaken to strengthen corporate governance and build a strong platform that positions Mumtalakat to meet challenges that lie ahead and enhance shareholder value.
There was a significant reduction in impairment losses to BD43 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, compared to a loss of BD370 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, due to the broader economic recovery underway towards the end of the reporting period resulting in better fair market value.
Due to better operating results of NBB, Batelco and McLaren, the share of profit of associates increased to BD82 million compared to BD 74 million for the 12 months to December 31, 2008 whilst total assets for Mumtalakat remained stable at BD4.9 billion.
Talal Al Zain, CEO of Mumtalakat, said: "Our figures today are principally due to the truly global effects of the economic crisis but we are continuing to make progress.
"I would characterise 2009 as a year in which we took an inward looking approach to prepare for the future, focusing on our portfolio companies and building Mumtalakat's capabilities as a financial institution.
"However, in 2010 I see a great opportunity to really enhance the value in our portfolio companies and potentially start the process of rebalancing our portfolio through measured steps which fit in with our role of investing for Bahrain."
