RAK Properties AGM approves proposal for 7.5 per cent dividend

The highlight of the AGM was the approval granted to a proposal for distribution of 7.5% dividend for the financial year 2006. The company had earlier announced the closing of its first financial year ended December 31, 2006 at a net profit of AED473.897 million. The profit, earned during the first 19 months of operation, represents 23.69% of the Company's capital and corresponds to earnings per share (EPS) of 23.69 fils.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of RAK Properties, said in his report to the AGM that the company has successfully taken on the mantle of leading real estate development in Ras Al Khaimah and thereby contributed substantially to the overall economic growth in the emirate.

"Although the company has recorded substantial sales up to 31st December 2006, revenue recognition has been postponed until such time costs can be reasonably attributed to individual units and beneficial ownership has been transferred to buyers. As a result the Profit and Loss account does not show the revenue from sales," the chairman said in the report, which was later approved by the AGM.

Also on the AGM's agenda, were approvals of the Auditors' Report and the balance sheet as well as profit & loss statement for 2006.

Other items on the agenda included discharge of the Board members and the auditors of the bank account for the Company's business during the period from 2nd June 2005 to 31st December 2006 and appointment of auditors for the year 2007.

Reiterating the Company's commitment to meeting the expectations of its shareholders, the chairman told the AGM that RAK Properties will continue to focus on large scale developments with special emphasis on the development of the emirate.

"In its endeavour to maintain its role as the premier real estate company in Ras Al Khaimah and to spearhead the economic progress of the emirate, RAK Properties will launch several new projects, both national and international, in the year 2007," the chairman said in his concluding remarks.

RAK Properties launched two major developments last year, the AED 500 million Julfar Towers project and the AED10 billion Mina Al Arab, a scenic landscaped resort-cum-residential community on Ras Al Khaimah's seafront. "The potential for real estate in the UAE looks tremendous and the global investor community has expressed strong confidence especially in Ras Al Khaimah's credentials and prospective. RAK Properties now has the ideal setting to build on its excellent start and take real state investment in Ras Al Khaimah to new highs," added Mohammed Sultan Al Qadi, Managing Director of RAK Properties.