Egypt's Citadel cuts net loss as regional unrest eases

Egypt's Citadel Capital cut consolidated net losses in the third quarter by nearly 40 percent, the private equity group said on Thursday, as cost controls improved and as business recovered from years of turmoil in the region.

Consolidated net losses were 82.7 million Egyptian pounds ($12.01 million) in the quarter, down from 134 million in the same period of 2012 and despite challenges to production, logistics and retail from a curfew in August and September.

Citadel Capital, with $9.5 billion under management, has holdings in dozens of companies, mainly in Egypt, east and north Africa, has suffered losses over the past two years, partly due to Arab world turmoil.

The firm is narrowing its focus to energy, transport, agrifoods, mining and cement and plans to gradually divest holdings outside that ambit over the next few years.

In October, shareholders approved a 3.64 billion Egyptian pound ($528 million) capital increase, part of a plan to convert it into a holding company from a private equity firm.

Total aggregate revenue at operational core and non-core companies was 1.5 billion pounds, a 15.5 percent increase over the third quarter last year, Citadel said.