Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Chairman of Board of Directors, and other officials during Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of Barwa Real Estate Company held yesterday.
Doha: Barwa Real Estate Company held its Ordinary General Assembly Meeting virtually yesterday. The meeting, chaired by Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors, approved the proposal of the Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends at the rate of QR0.125 per share (12.5 percent of the nominal value of the share) with a total of QR486.4m.
During the meeting, Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors, reviewed the report of the Board of Directors, which included a comprehensive overview of the company’s activities, performance, consolidated financial statements for the year 2020, as well as its future plans.
He said Barwa Real Estate was able to face the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of its financial indicators were better than the previous year, due to the tremendous efforts made by the members of the Board of Directors, the executive management and all the Group’s employees.
During the fiscal year 2020, the Group also succeeded in signing financing contracts worth QR3.4bn, with the aim of refinancing existing credit facilities in a manner that contributes to strengthening the Group’s cash position during the coming period.
On the company’s performance and achievements during the year 2020, He said that the total assets of the Group reached a value of QR33.2bn, an increase of QR1.2bn on December 31, 2019, and the total equity of the shareholders of the parent company reached a value of to QR20.3bn.
Barwa Real Estate won the Public Works Authority’s tender for the development and maintenance of 8 public schools for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Package 1, which is the first Public-private partnership (PPP). This investment guarantees rental income from the government for the Group over a period of 25 years.
Construction works have been launched in each of the Madinatna project, which is a residential city for families, as well as in the Barahat Al Janoub project, which is a residential city for the working class, and both projects are located within Al Wakra Municipality. The two projects will increase operating revenues and enhance the sustainable growth of shareholder returns.
The Group also started the sales activities for the units of Dara (A) project in Lusail city and delivering them to their owners during the year 2020, through our subsidiary Waseef Asset Management company. This residential project strengthens the Group’s cash position, as well as achieves growth in revenue levels from real estate sales.
The Group completed the development and operation of the entire first and second phases, in addition to the close to completion of the third and final phase of the project, which led to increasing the rental income during the year 2020.
This is in addition to the completion of construction work for the Second Phase of Al Khor Workers Sports Complex in the first quarter of 2020, and the leasing has started during the year.
The Group has continued the development of its operational real estate portfolio to include: 8,148 residential units, 37,300 residential rooms for workers, 336,552 square meters for shops, showrooms and offices, 445,779 square meters for workshops and warehouses, and 701 hotel rooms. The average occupancy rate has exceeded 90 percent in many of the Group’s residential projects.
As for the Group’s plans for the current year 2021, he explained that as the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic continues to take its toll on the global economy during the year 2021, Barwa Real Estate is keen to work on various aspects during the year, which the Group considers to be the pillars of its business. The Group aims at increasing revenues through achieving a balanced mix of operational projects that meet the needs of the real estate market in Qatar and lower the potential of risks linked to it. In addition to working on master plans and feasibility studies for many new projects on the existing lands of the Group, as the Group owns a stock of land that reaches an area of 7.7 million square meters, 68 percent of which is inside Qatar, and the remaining 32 percent is in other regions around the world.
The Group aims to rationalise operational, administrative and financing expenditures to achieve the maximum possible benefit without affecting the quality of the projects and services provided.
Abdulla Jobara Al Romaihi, Group CEO of Barwa Real Estate, commented that the group has adopted a comprehensive business strategy with precise measures to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic. This plan has so far proven its efficiency as it provides a successful model in overcoming the side effects which accompany the pandemic. It’s also ensuring business continuity, with no interruption of any plans or projects. These exceptional circumstances have in fact refined our experiences to deal with different variables.
