SICO Reports BD 3.6 million (USD 9.4 million) in Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders for the Year Ended 31 December 2022
27/02/2023Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 27 February 2023 – SICO BSC (c), licensed as a conventional wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain “CBB”, announced today its consolidated results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December 2022.
For the full year 2022, SICO reported BD 3.6 million (USD 9.4 million) consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders, representing a 44% drop from the BD 6.4 million (USD 17 million) recorded at year-end 2021. Net profit for the year was primarily supported by strong growth in other interest income, coupled with solid brokerage and net fee income for the year, despite lower investment income due to wide market sell-offs. Earnings per share recorded 8.45 Bahraini fils in 2022, down from 15.18 Bahraini fils in 2021. SICO’s comprehensive income attributable to shareholders stood at BD 3.2 million (USD 8.5 million) in 2022, compared to BD 6.9 million (USD 18.4 million) in 2021, representing a 54% decline.
Total equity attributed to shareholders as at 31 December 2022 increased by 1.6% to BD 70 million (USD 185.6 million) from the BD 69.0 million (USD 183.0 million) recorded as at year-end 2021. Meanwhile, total assets as at year-end 2022 rose 6% to BD 280 million (USD 742.7 million) compared to BD 263.5 million (USD 699.0 million) as at 31 December 2021. Based on this performance, SICO’s Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of 5% of the share capital, aggregating to BD 2.207 million (USD 5.9 million) subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Bahrain and the General Assembly The external auditors, KPMG, have issued an unqualified opinion on SICO’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.
SICO recorded net investment income of BD 1 million (USD 2.8 million) in 2022, a 77% drop from the BD 4.4 million (USD 11.8 million) recorded in the prior year. Net fee income for the year declined 5% to BD 8.3 million (USD 22 million) compared to BD 8.8 million (USD 23.2 million) registered in 2021. Lower fees income for the twelve-month period reflected a decline in performance fees versus the prior year. Meanwhile, Net interest income saw a 43% year-on-year increase to BD 2.6 million (USD 7.0 million) in 2022. Finally, brokerage and other income recorded BD 2.5 million (USD 6.6 million) compared to BD 2.7 million (USD 7.1 million) in 2021.
SICO’s assets under management (AUMs) witnessed growth during the year, on the back of new offerings and services expansions. On a gross basis (including leverage), SICO’s total AUMs increased by 6% to BD 1.8 billion (USD 4.8 billion) in 2022 compared to the BD 1.7 billion (USD 4.5 billion) recorded on 31 December 2021. On a net basis (excluding leverage), total AUMs increased by 2% to BD 1.6 billion (USD 4.2 billion) in 2022, compared to the BD 1.5 billion (USD 4.1 billion) recorded on 31 December 2021.
Chairman of the Board, Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, commented on SICO’s performance for the year saying, “At SICO, we are well-equipped to weather the market cyclicality that is inherent to our business. This was evident throughout 2022, as we successfully leveraged our extensive experience, diversified offering, and resilient, growth-oriented business model, to achieve solid financial results, whilst progressing on our longer-term value creation strategy. As part of the latter, during the past twelve months we enriched our offering, initiating new services and solutions increasingly tailored to our clients’ evolving needs. Over the past year, we were also successful in increasing our AUMs, which over the years have enabled us to retain our market leading position in an increasingly competitive industry.”
Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Najla Al-Shirawi, added, “Despite the unprecedented difficulties faced by global markets in 2022, SICO ended the year maintaining its solid profitability and leading market position in the regional investment banking, brokerage, and asset management spheres. Over the past twelve months, we also achieved multiple strategic milestones which leave us ideally placed to drive new growth in the coming year. Most importantly, we completed the consolidation of SICO Capital in Saudi Arabia as a fully owned subsidiary of SICO by purchasing the remaining stake from Bank Muscat. We also launched our new trading platform, SICO LIVE Global, which offers users access to direct equities, including liquid alternatives, from over 25 exchanges across both developed and emerging markets.”
“Looking forward, we will continue to capitalize on the superior quality of our offerings and our strong team, expanded footprint, and robust balance sheet to deliver sustainable growth in 2023 and beyond,” Al-Shirawi concluded.
SICO’s performance during 2022 was recognized by a number of prestigious organizations, with the Bank receiving multiple accolades throughout the year. SICO was awarded MENA’s Best Sukuk Manager and both Bahrain’s Best Broker and Best Asset Manager of the year by Global Investor Group MENA Awards. It was also named as one of Forbes Middle East Top 30 Asset Management Companies in the Middle East. SICO also won Best Investment Bank in Bahrain at the 2022 Global Finance World's Best Investment Banks Awards for the third consecutive year and was named Best Broker in Bahrain by the Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM). SICO has also retained its ranking as the number one broker on the Bahrain Bourse for the twenty-fourth consecutive year.
SICO is listed on Bahrain Bourse (“BHB”) and its code is SICO-C. The press release and full set of financial statements will be available on SICO and BHB websites.