Dubai’s Shuaa in the red amid tough conditions

Shuaa Capital posted a net loss of AED156.2m ($42.53m) in the third quarter as adverse market conditions pushed the investment bank into asset revaluations and provisions, it said on Thursday. The results, compared to a AED0.2m net profit during the same period last year, were hit by a revaluation of AED83.5m of non-core assets as well as provisions and a one-time charge of AED41.2m. Reduced business volumes, stemming from market dislocation, also hit revenues which fell to AED14.2m in the quarter, against AED51.8m in the same period in 2010. Shuaa, which appointed Michael Philipp as chief executive officer last month, reiterated it would concentrate on its asset management, corporate advisory and institutional brokerage business. The bank eked out a small second-quarter net profit in July of AED0.6m ($163,354.2), helped by aggressive cost cuts. In the first quarter, Shuaa said it would cut 10.7 percent of its staff, or 39 jobs, to reduce costs following the regional turmoil which hit its quarterly results.