Aamal Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani
DOHA: Aamal Company’s net profit attributable to equity holders stood at QR115.8m for the first quarter of 2018.
The group revenue was down by 62.9 percent to QR308.2m from a year ago, primarily due to the reclassification of two business entities within the Industrial Manufacturing segment from subsidiaries to joint ventures from 1 April 2017, with a consequent change in their accounting presentation, the Company said yesterday.
Aamal’s gross profit was down by 36.4 percent to QR117.1m compared to QR184.2m reported in Q1, 2017. Net profit before share of net profits of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method (“net underlying profit”) declined by 38.3 percent to QR84.9m. Net underlying profit margins have increased by 10.9 percentage points to 27.5 percent. Share of net profits from associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method increased in excess of fourteen fold (14.4x) to QR31.2m, up fomQR2.2m in Q1, 17.
There were no fair value gains on investment properties in either Q1 2018 or Q1 2017. Total Company net profit was down 16.9 percent to QR116.1m, with net profit attributable to Aamal equity holders up 1.2 percent to QR115.8m. Reported earnings per share remain flat at QR 0.18.
Net capital investment expenditure increased by QR183.5m to QR208.6m, reflecting enhancements to the Company’s real estate portfolio through the acquisition of a number of prime residential assets.
Commenting on the financial results Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of Aamal, commented:“Despite the current market conditions, Aamal has continued to deliver a solid performance in the first three months of 2018, recording a marginal increase in net profits for its shareholders. We believe this very creditable performance is testament to Aamal’s enduring ability not only to withstand challenging market conditions, but also its alertness to new opportunities allied with the agility and financial strength to pursue them should potential value be identified.
“I should also like to point out that some of the year-on-year declines reported (revenue in particular) are not truly reflective of the economic reality of Aamal’s performance as they are not true like-for-like comparatives. These numbers reported are largely due to a change in the accounting presentation fora couple of business entities within the Industrial Manufacturing segment, with effect from 1 April 2017. From this date,these two entities were no longer fully consolidated on a line-by-line basis, but rather through the equity method, following their reclassification from subsidiaries to joint ventures.The most relevant indicators of corporate performance to use for the quarter are the net profit attributable to Aamal equity holders figure and reported earnings per share, as the distortions caused by this one-off change in the accounting presentation are cancelled out.
“As we look ahead to the rest of 2018, we remain confident that we are well positioned to build on the opportunities that continue to present themselves.”
Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Aamal, said: “We are delighted to report such an encouraging start to the year. Aamal’s exposure across the entire economic spectrum, combined with our agility to grasp value-creating opportunities in a timely manner, reinforces our resilience and competitive position in what is no doubt a challenging environment at present.
“Amongst our achievements since the start of the year, Aamal has successfully appointed a new liquidity provider for our listed shares to reduce share price volatility, thus increasing the appeal of Aamal’s equity further. We are also pleased to have acquired several high-quality assets to enhance our real estate portfolio including three residential compounds all in prime Doha locations.
“Furthermore, we are also delighted to have launched three new industrial projects, including the Senyar Drum Production Factory which is currently well underway, and we expect this facility to be fit for the commencement of operations by the end of this year.”
