Oasis Leasing, which is in recovery mode, has said it will build its asset and risk profile from its current $560 million value to $1.2 billion by 2006 with additional investments in aircraft and targeted moves into shipping, infrastructure and power plant financing.

The company posted a net profit of $1.27 million compared with $0.91m in the first half of 2003. Net profits for the whole of 2003 were $1.27 million against a loss of $2.3 million in 2002 in the wake of a downturn in the international economy following the September 11 attacks.
“Airline passenger demand has been restored to pre-September 11, 2001 levels and most forecasters are anticipating robust global growth for the foreseeable future, “ said Oasis Leasing chairman Saif Al Mazrouei.
“The numbers of aircraft available for sale or lease are reducing and lease rates and aircraft values are improving. These trends are positive indicators for the company’s long-term prospects,” he said.
“Orders for new aircraft are also strong and developments in the local aviation markets are particularly encouraging, as evidenced by the recent Etihad order for Airbus equipment. These developments represent important opportunities for Oasis Leasing as the business continues to grow and develop.”
The half-year results come close on the heels of Oasis Leasing’s announcement that it intends to fast-track its planned $54 million rights issue and increase its paid-up capital to $190.3 million to take advantage of the emerging leasing opportunities.
Oasis Leasing received shareholder and regulatory approval for the rights issue, and to increase its ceiling for overseas ownership to 49 per cent, in 2002. During 2004, the rights issue received institutional support from Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi Investment Company and BAE Systems.
 “We have regularly expressed the view the leasing market would recover based on the underlying fundamentals of the industry. That recovery is now underway and we are seeing a wealth of new business opportunities, regionally and internationally,” said Gordon Dixon, CEO, Oasis Leasing.
The company was formed in May 1997 to identify, structure, manage and invest in high-value leasing transactions. The objective was to deliver sustainable shareholder investment returns.
The original Oasis Leasing concept, aimed at promoting the creation of new financial services’ clusters in the UAE economy, was developed by the UAE Offsets Group (UOG) with British Aerospace as the main investor. Leasing is viewed as an attractive and sustainable economic sector to develop.
The idea originated in the UOG but Oasis is now a stand-alone entity that answers to the board and to its shareholders.
British Aerospace, or BAE Systems as it is now known, holds 11 per cent of the company’s equity.
The company has a broad base of shareholders currently totalling around 34,000. These include institutional and notable private investors. 
Earlier this year, the company announced a $10 million investment from BAE Systems.
The cash injection was in the form of a loan convertible into shares as and when its planned rights issue takes place.
“As a founder shareholder of Oasis Leasing, BAE Systems now underlines its longstanding commitment to the company and to the development of the UAE’s financial services sector,” said John MacBeath, managing director, Industrial and Business Development, BAE Systems.