DOHA: Aamal Company QSC (Aamal), one of the GCC’s fastest growing diversified companies, recorded a net profit of QR600.2m for the full year ended December 2014, reflecting 17.2 percent growth from a year ago. The group revenue is up 0.8 percent to QR2.13bn compared with 2013.
Aamal’s earnings per share increased by 13.9 percent to QR0.96 from QR0.85 in 2013.
Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of Aamal, commented: “We have managed to grow our total net profit by over 17 percent to exceed QR600m for the first time, with earnings per share rising by almost 14 percent. Excluding the net fair value gains on investment properties which were largely flat at QR251.7m, net profit was up by 30 percent. Today’s results extend Aamal’s proud and long-established track record of profit growth and value creation underpinned by a clear focus on efficient capital allocations and returns”.
“Given the outstanding performance of the company, the Board of Directors recommends a 10 percent cash dividend and 5 percent in bonus shares to be approved by the General Assembly meeting which will take place on March 16, 2015”, he said.
The Group’s industrial manufacturing division’s net profit grew by 128.3 percent to QR51.7m, driven principally by a 270 basis point improvement in the net margin to 3 percent. The improvement was due mainly to acceleration in an infrastructure project build in Qatar, translating into an increase in demand for various products offered by this division.
Net profit for the trading and distribution segment rose by 32.8 percent to QR114.9m along with an improvement of 100 basis points in the net margin to 15.8 percent.
The major contributors to this growth have been Aamal Medical and to a lesser degree, Ebn Sina Medical, due to increased demand from both the private and public medical sectors, underpinned by the significant increase in government spending to develop the medical sector in Qatar.
Net profit for the property division rose by 11.2 percent to QR223.3m year-on-year with the net margin increasing by 50 basis points to 77.3 percent.
Net profit for the managed services segment rose by over 60 percent to QR8.3m over the course of the year, principally due to the 690 basis point increase in the net margin to 12.9 percent.
The major factor behind this growth is a greater focus on cost control, along with the curtailment of several low margin contracts that is also behind the 25.6 percent drop in revenues.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice-Chairman of Aamal, said:“This very strong set of results bears witness to the company’s ability to seize the opportunities that are presenting themselves across the economic spectrum in Qatar, continuing its long established track record of financial and operating performance that is clearly focused on both returns and cost control, aligned with a prudent approach to risk.”
Tarek M El Sayed, Managing Director of Aamal, said: ““We are very pleased to witness such impressive results in 2014 and going into 2015, I am very positive that this current rate of growth will be sustained across the company”.
The Peninsula
