Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Thani speaking during Aamal’s Annual Ordinary General Assembly, yesterday.
Doha: Aamal Company (Aamal), one of the region’s most diversified companies, held its Annual Ordinary General Assembly Meeting yesterday and approved the Chairman’s report on the Company’s activities and the financial position for the year 2019, and the company’s future business plan.
Reading out the Chairman’s report at the general assembly, Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Thani noted that although 2019 saw significant market headwinds in the construction industry, Aamal responded positively in this very challenging environment, growing revenue by .6 percent and delivering a net profit to Aamal’s equity holders of QR322m.
It was against this backdrop that the Board recommended a cash dividend of QR 0.04 a share, subject to approval at the Annual General Assembly Meeting.
Sheikh Mohammed said the diversity of Aamal’s business model undoubtedly provided great resilience in 2019. It is this diverse business platform that enables the Company to play an important part in Qatar’s growing private sector and contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.
The 2019 marked a year of significant development in terms of sustainable growth. Most notably from a governance perspective, Aamal developed a governance code to ensure the company is aligned with the highest levels of corporate standards and policies, implemented a code of conduct policy and a whistleblowing mechanism for all employees, ensuring they are able to act if they encounter any potential breaches of our standards. Furthermore, in 2019 we successfully completed the design and testing of an Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICOFR) framework and received a clean audit opinion from our auditors, PwC.
Sheikh Mohammad said the Board was delighted to welcome Sheikh Faisal bin Fahed Al Thani as an Independent Director who brings more than 30 years’ experience from working in several international companies in the oil and gas industry as well as experience as a main board Director of a number of significant Qatari listed companies.
Further strengthening Aamal’s executive management capability, the Board approved the appointments of Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mohamed Ramahi as Advisor to the CEO, and Imran Chughtai as Chief Finance Officer.
Aamal’s Trading and Distribution segment achieved robust top line growth in the year, despite a challenging market.
For Aamal, the outlook for the year ahead is mixed. A prolonged outbreak of COVID-19 is expected to have a negative impact on the Group’s financial results for 2020 however, Aamal’s diverse business model continues to provide resilience in these challenging times and we are confident that our strategy remains appropriate for long-term sustainable growth.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on global financial markets, the long-term economic outlook is encouraging and we expect Aamal to leverage the opportunities generated by the Qatar National Vision 2030, supported by the wise vision of the Government under the leadership of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Aamal’s corporate strategy remains clear and consistent as we continue to focus on generating shareholder value through profitable growth and diversification.
