IslamicFinance.de

Capital Intelligence (CI) has assigned Gulf Finance House (GFH) Long and Short-Term Ratings of 'BB-' and 'B', respectively. The ratings are supported by a significant reduction in leverage as a result of debt repayment and increases in equity, the successful restructuring of debt with an extended repayment period, and the return to profitability in 2012. The factors currently constraining the ratings are the forced debt restructuring in 2012, tight liquidity (although this improved in H1 2013), an encumbered asset base, a small balance sheet coupled with single name and sector concentrations in the asset base, reliance on deal flow for income generation, and the still challenging investment environment.In view of the improvement in both liquidity and leverage in H1 2013, a 'Positive' Outlook is assigned to the ratings.