Shuaa Capital, the Dubai-listed investment bank, reported on Saturday Dh50.8 million in net loss for the second quarter of 2016, marking a significant plunge from the Dh1.7 million in net profit reported in the same quarter of 2015.

The figures put net loss for the first six months of this year at Dh78.3 million — down from Dh120,000 in profits in the same half of 2015.

Meanwhile, total revenues for the second quarter of 2016 were Dh44.6 million, also recording a drop from the Dh59.7 million in revenues in Q2 2015.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the company attributed the quarterly losses mainly to Dh56.9 million in provisions set aside by Gulf Finance, an SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) lending business that is wholly owned by Shuaa.

Gulf Finance’s revenues declined to Dh34.6 million in the second quarter of this year from Dh38.4 million a year ago as trading among SMEs remained tough amid a challenging macroeconomic environment with low oil prices.

“Shuaa’s second quarter performance is reflective of the ongoing volatility in global markets and the challenges facing the local SME sector. Sustained low oil prices coupled with a troubled Eurozone had a knock-on effect on regional market’s performance,” said AbdulRahman Al Hareb, chairman of Shuaa Capital.

He added that the company will continue to cut costs and optimise operations.

Shuaa’s assets stood at Dh1.4 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2016, down from Dh1.6 billion on December 31, 2015.

In June this year, Abu Dhabi Financial Group, an investment firm, reached an agreement to buy a 48.36 per cent stake in Shuaa that is held by Dubai Banking Group, Shuaa announced.