BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Faced with a sharp decline in the company’s profitability at the end of 2013, United Development Company (UDC), the master developer of The Pearl Qatar (TPQ), is looking forward to invest in new projects outside TPQ to ensure better results for the investors of the company in future, Turki Mohamed Khaled Al Khater, Chairman of UDC said yesterday.
“Although there is nothing concrete so far, but we are negotiating with the government to go beyond the boundaries of The Pearl, probably in Lusail City or some other government projects to support our business,” said Al Khater.
Al Khater, while speaking with The Peninsula on the sidelines of the company’s Annual General Meeting, which witnessed a lot of resentment from the shareholders who were visibly upset with the company’s performance in 2013. He said: “The concerns raised by the shareholders are legitimate. We have some of our sister companies such as Qatar Cool and others who can work outside TPQ to compete with other companies (in terms of returns) to support UDC and have better results ahead.”
“We are also in negotiation with some big developers and investors in the country to invest in TPQ. Qatar Cool is in the process of finalising a deal to provide ‘District Cooling’ services in the upcoming Lusail City, which will provide big support to UDC.”
The AGM approved 10 percent cash dividend (QR1 per share), in addition to 5 percent bonus shares, and also the other resolutions recommended by the board.
Asked about the challenges faced by the ambitious TPQ project, he said: “There is nothing wrong with TPQ project. We are expecting to complete it over the next four-five years. Some developers have had problems, and failed to implement deadlines in constructing properties, and we are working to address those issues. However, we are legally authorised to take back these pieces of lands, which we can either resale or develop on our own.”
Total revenue of UDC in 2013 amounted to QR2.081bn. Net profit for the year ending December 31, 2013 reached QR409m, while the net profit attributable to owners of the company stood at QR323m.
Although the company performed well in the first nine months of the year and posted a net profit of QR229m for Q1 2013, up 16 percent compared to QR196.8m for Q1 in 2012, which eventually increased to QR577.9m for Q3 2013, but by the end of the year the profitability declined due to losses incurred in its overseas operations.
According to Al Khater, a subsidiary of UDC suffered a huge loss of over QR268m in one of its overseas projects in the UAE, which caused a sharp decline in dividends. The Peninsula
