Kuwait City, Mar 27: KIPCO – Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) – announced a net profit of KD 30 million (US$ 98 million) for the year ended 31 December 2023, an increase of 19% over the KD 25.3 million (US$ 82.5 million) reported at the end of 2022. Earnings per share for 2023 stood at 5.1 fils (US$ 1.7 cents).

KIPCO’s total revenue from operations registered an increase of 30% from the KD 1 billion (US$ 3.3 billion) in 2022 to KD 1.3 billion (US$ 4.2 billion) in 2023. Shareholder equity went up 4% to KD 611.2 million (US$ 2 billion) compared to KD 587.8 million (US$ 1.9 billion) in 2022.

At year-end, KIPCO’s consolidated assets increased 8% to KD 12.3 billion (US$ 40.1 billion), compared to KD 11.4 billion (US$ 37.2 billion) at the end of 2022.

Commenting on the results, Sheikha Dana Naser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, KIPCO’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

“The results for 2023 reflect the success of the strategy laid down by the Board of Directors and the Executive Management, which aims to achieve a balance in the sector allocation of the Group’s investment portfolio and build strategic, revenue and cost synergies between our companies. As part of these efforts,

we executed a number of successful exits, mergers and acquisitions during the year that served to diversify our portfolio in a manner that reflects greater sectoral balance and enhances stakeholder value. As a result of these transactions, KIPCO reported higher revenue and profit, which in turn reflected positively on the company’s financial position.”

The year 2023 saw KIPCO’s exit from Gulf Insurance Group, in a transaction valued at 2.4x book value. KIPCO sold its stake in United Oil Projects Company to NAPESCO, in a move aimed to streamline services provided by our companies in the oil services sector. A 52% stake in Burgan Bank Turkey was sold to KIPCO’s wholly owned subsidiary, Al Rawabi United Holding, which resulted in increasing Burgan Bank’s capital adequacy by approximately 200 bps. Another major announcement for the year is the intention to combine OSN+ and Anghami, a move that will create not only one of the region’s largest streaming entities, but also a media tech company with AI at its core.

In terms of liability management, KIPCO completed the purchase and cancellation of its KD bonds maturing in 2023 and 2024, worth KD 105 million (US$ 342 million), thereby extending their maturity to 2028 and also raised KD 60 million (US$ 195 million) of new money. The company repaid its US$ EMTN worth KD 153.4 million (US$ 500 million). The year 2023 also saw KIPCO’s debut Sukuk issuance, the first-ever KD-denominated Sukuk transaction by a Kuwaiti incorporated company, worth KD 103 million (US$ 336 million) maturing in 2029.