Citadel's net earnings surge 806.7%

Citadel Capital, a private equity firm focused on the Middle East and Africa, recorded net earnings of $38.1 million for the year ended December 2009 on revenues of $79.2 million. The firm’s net earnings increased by 806.7 percent as compared to the year ending December 2008, according to a statement.

The firm’s total assets under management committed stood at $3.7 billion while its total investments under control stood at $8.3 billion, the firm disclosed in its annual results for the year ending December 2009.

Citadel’s total invested assets under management increased by 9.5 percent from $2.6 billion in 2008 to $2.9 billion last year. This figure includes $1.9 billion of third-party fee-earning assets under management and $757.2 million from its own balance sheet, the firm said. 

The firm’s total net asset value increased 10.9 percent to $1.9 billion as of December 2009. 

The year just ended was a challenging one for our industry across the world, but Citadel Capital has thrived. Ahmed Heikal

“The year just ended was a challenging one for our industry across the world, but Citadel Capital has thrived,” Citadel Capital chairman and founder Ahmed Heikal said in a statement. “All of our existing investments are very much on track, and we see the coming two years as offering unparalleled opportunities,” he added. 

In 2009, the firm’s new investments included Wafra, Citadel’s platform company for agricultural production in Sudan; Sheltam Railways in Kenya and Uganda; and Tawazon, the firm’s platform company for investment in the solid waste management industry in Egypt and the Middle East. 

Citadel Capital has generated cash returns of more than $2.5 billion to its shareholders and limited partners on equity investments of $650 million since 2004, the firm said. 

Also since 2004, Citadel’s anchor limited partners have been entitled to 34.8 percent of the carried interest and advisory fees from the firm’s opportunity-specific funds. The firm said it is presently in negotiations to buy back the right to these asset management fees. 

Citadel’s investments are worth more than $8.3 billion. It has made 54 investments since 2004 across 15 industries including mining, cement, transportation, food and energy. According to media reports, the firm recently invested $183 million in three Nile river ports.