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http://ramblingfisherman.com/img_4949/ (Manama, 10 August 2011) Seera Investment Bank B.S.C.(c), a Shari’a compliant investment bank headquartered in Bahrain announced its results for the first half of this year.

Seera reported a net profit of $64.1 million for the 6 months period ending June 30, 2011 compared to a profit of $3 million for the same period last year. These strong results reflect the performance of Seera’s investment portfolio and confirm the fact that Seera is showing a very healthy trend of gradually improving financial results. Net profit for the second quarter was $61.5 million compared to $2.5 million for the same period last year. A recent exit from one of the Bank’s major investments contributed significantly to these results. Seera’s investment portfolio has shown a very good level of resilience during the financial crisis and excellent performance since then.

“We are very pleased with these positive results and feel that they fairly reflect Seera’s efforts since its establishment to invest in sectors and asset classes with appropriate levels of risk and with strong growth prospects. Our disciplined approach has been key to Seera realizing value from investments, even in difficult times.” The Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Abdulla Janahi said.

On Seera’s investment approach he said “Seera’s strategy is to invest in companies with strong fundamentals, an experienced management team and in industries which are not highly cyclical. This strategy has seen Seera through the worst financial crisis and the subsequent challenging global economic environment. ”

Mr Janahi added “BWA, our recent exit is a good example of our investment approach. The UK based company was acquired just before the onset of the financial crisis and Seera worked in close partnership with company management to mitigate the impact of the crisis and to grow its business. The successful exit demonstrated Seera’s ability to create value during this exceptionally challenging investment holding period. The company was recently sold for around $ 300 million yielding a return on investment of around 70% over a holding period of slightly over two and a half years.”

Mr. Janahi further commented that “In tandem with Seera’s prudent investment strategy, the Bank diligently managed its balance sheet and avoided excessive leverage. Due to its prudent liquidity management, the Bank comfortably met all its obligations on time. Management also initiated a program to implement an efficient and sustainable overhead operating base and ensured that an optimal operating environment is maintained. The combination of our diligent investment approach, sound balance sheet management and cost management have been very good for Seera and are today being reflected on the Bank’s operating results.”

On the future outlook, Mr Janahi added “Obviously the markets are not as stable as we would like them to be, especially given the sovereign debt issues, but we are hopeful that market stability will return reasonably soon and that the worst period is behind us. The recent financial crisis has forced investment banks globally and regionally to re-think their business strategy. Seera has also reflected on the learnings from the past few years and modified its business model and strategy to better position the Bank for future challenges and opportunities. In spite of the uncertainty, we feel that Seera is in a good position to manage through these difficult markets, and to capitalize on investment opportunities that are in line with our investment thesis. ”

Seera has investments in the industrial manufacturing and transportation sectors in addition to smaller investments in the utilities and real estate sectors. The Bank’s investment strategy is to maintain a diversified investment portfolio geographically and industry wise, focusing on sectors underpinned by strong fundamental demand, and to avoid speculation driven