GFH Financial Group B.S.C

GFH Financial Group B.S.C. has announced the sale of 134,287,812 of its treasury shares, which represents 3.5% of its total issued shares, to Southern Star Investments W.L.L. This leaves the company with 219,105,136 treasury shares, equivalent to 5.72% of its total shares. The announcement was made by Mariam Jowhary, the Head of Compliance & AML at GFH Financial Group.

GFH Financial Group BSC, an Islamic wholesale bank established in 1999 in Bahrain, operates in accordance with Islamic Sharia principles. It transitioned from a closed shareholding company to a public shareholding company in 2004 and is listed on four major stock exchanges in the GCC. The Group manages over $21 billion in assets, has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Middle East's Top 30 Biggest Asset Managers, and was named Bahrain’s Investment Banking Market Leader by Euromoney. In 2022, GFH created Infracorp, issuing a $900 million green sukuk on the London Stock Exchange. In 2023, GFH entered a strategic partnership with FII and the World Economic Forum and expanded its regional portfolio to include logistics and healthcare assets in the GCC. GFH's corporate governance framework is based on guidelines issued by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and the Central Bank of Bahrain. The company's corporate governance philosophy emphasizes compliance with corporate governance principles and prioritizes transparency and accountability.

On 15th February 2024, GFH Financial Group B.S.C. announced that it has appointed SNB Capital as its financial advisor. This comes after the approval obtained by the shareholders on 3rd April 2022, regarding the cross-listing of its shares on the Saudi Stocks Exchange (Tadawul). The cross-listing is subject to Tadawul’s approval and meeting all the requirements stipulated in the listing rules. Shareholders will be informed of any further developments.

On 14th February 2024, GFH Financial Group B.S.C. announced the successful broadcast of its live webcast session, which discussed the financial results of the year ended 31st December 2023. The webcast was held at 1:00 p.m. Kingdom of Bahrain time. The announcement follows GFH's market notification dated 5th February 2024. The presentation and script of the live webcast were attached to the announcement. The information was signed by Mariam Jowhary, Head of Compliance & AML at GFH Financial Group.

The text provides information about the GFH Financial Group BSC, a company registered under the Central Bank of Bahrain as an Islamic wholesale bank (Commercial Registration no. 44136). The company's registered office is located in the Bahrain Financial Harbour, specifically on the 29th floor of Building 1398, East Tower, in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. The board of directors includes Ghazi Faisal Ebrahim Alhajeri as Chairman and Edris Mohammed Rafi Alrafi as Vice Chairman, among others. The CEO is Hisham Ahmed Alrayes and the company's auditors are KPMG Fakhro. The text also mentions consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023.

The GFH Financial Group B.S.C. held a Board of Directors meeting on 13th February 2024. They approved the annual audited financial statements for the financial year ending 31st December 2023. A proposal was made to the general assembly to distribute dividends at 6.2% of the par value of the share excluding treasury shares, equivalent to USD 0.0164 (BHD 0.006 / AED 60230.0). Other internal matters were also discussed. The dividend distribution announcement is attached.

GFH Financial Group has reported a 13.97% YoY increase in net profit attributable to shareholders for 2023, amounting to US$102.86 million. The total income for 2023 was US$369.53 million, marking a 24.10% YoY increase. However, the Q4 2023 figures showed a slight decrease, with net profit and total income dropping by 0.32% and 1.36% respectively. The group's growth in 2023 was bolstered by contributions from its subsidiaries, associates, and investments. It has proposed a total cash dividend of 6.2% on par value for 2023, pending approval. GFH also saw several investment exits and partial exits from proprietary investments in Bahrain in 2023. The group's credit ratings were reaffirmed by Fitch and Capital Intelligence, reflecting its resilient business model and strong financial performance.