First Dubai reports net profit for 2018

• Total operating revenues declared at KWD3.44 million
• Earnings per share at 2.95 fils
• Total stockholders’ rights valued at KWD74.02 million by the end of 2018 against KWD71.59 million at the end of 2017
• The Company's liabilities reduced by 12% to KWD17.93 million by the end of 2018 from KWD 20.48 million by the end of 2017

Dubai: First Dubai Real Estate Development Company K.S.C.P held its Ordinary Annual General Meeting for 2018 on Wednesday, 17th April, at its headquarters in Al Mazaya Towers in the heart of Kuwait City with a record 89.7 %  attendance.

The meeting was headed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors Abdul Aziz Bassem Al Loughani and attended by representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and representative of the Audit Offices. In addition, heads of various departments of the company, a number of investors and local and regional media representatives participated in the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Mr. Al Loughani said that during the past year, the company continued to forge ahead with its objectives of developing diverse, high-quality real estate projects and services. These include the development of real estate projects and management of assets owned by the company, which significantly contributed to achieving the investment returns.

“First Dubai, a subsidiary of Al Mazaya Holding, achieved stable financial results for the fiscal year ended on 31st December 2018 by securing operating revenues from the sale and lease operations in its real estate portfolio,” he said.

First Dubai’s annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2018, indicates a detailed breakdown of the financial results, achievements and milestones of the company during the last fiscal year where the company achieved a net profit of KWD 2.94 million with earning per share at 2.95 fils, thanks to the operational momentum resulting from the completion, execution and delivery of available-for-sale/lease-projects, as well as the growing occupancy rates in its income-generating projects, bringing the company's total operating revenues to KWD 3.44 million at the end of last year.

Mr. Al Loughani added that the company currently has strong assets valued at KWD 96.90 million which are distributed in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with its total stockholders’ rights valued at KWD74.02 million by the end of 2018 compared to KWD71.59 million by the end of 2017. He noted that the company’s liabilities decreased by 12% to KWD 17.93 million at the end of 2018 compared to KWD 20.48 million at the end of 2017.

"In the past year, we made great efforts to achieve the best returns for our shareholders. Thanks to God Almighty, we achieved positive results. And within this context, the Board of Directors of First Dubai declared that we’re fully committed to enforcing modern auditing and sound corporate governance standards, calculating all essential allocations with transparency and disclosure in a way that gives our investors unrestricted access to the company's financial data, workings and operations."

During the meeting, the Board of Directors approved the Corporate Governance Report, the Audit Committee Report and the Auditors' Report along with the financial statements for the fiscal year ended 31^st December 2018. The Board of Directors also approved the recommendation that no dividend shall be declared or paid for the fiscal year ended 31^st December 2018; nor will there be any bonus by the company for the board members for the same year.

It has also been agreed not to deduct 10% of the net profits in favour of the Company's required legal reserve in accordance with Article 222 of the Companies Law No. 1 of 2016 due to accumulated losses, nor to withhold any percentage of the profits in favour of the voluntary reserve.

"First Dubai strives to enhance its operations and ramp up its real estate portfolio by adding more lucrative projects that will benefit the company and its shareholders. We are working on a strategic plan whereby new projects and viable investments will be developed based on the company’s solid financial base and stability and the recent recovery in the real estate market," Mr. Al Loughani concluded.

First Dubai Real Estate Development Company K.S.C.P, a Kuwaiti joint stock company established in 2003, has a capital of KWD 100 million (approximately US$ 365 million). The company was established to invest and develop property in the State of Kuwait and the UAE. The establishment of the company comes at a time when the property market in the UAE was rapidly growing and managed to consolidate the country’s position as one of the most attractive and vibrant markets in the entire Arabian Gulf region as well as in the Middle East in general. The growth comes at a time when both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are now among the key business hubs from which investors can get significant returns.

© Press Release 2019