Al Mazaya achieves profits of Dhs63m in Q1 2009

This confirms the stability of Al Mazaya's performance, despite the current economic turmoil.

The announcement came after a board meeting held at Al Mazaya headquarters, led by Chairman Rashid Al Nafisi and attended by Vice Chairman and Managing Director Eng. Khalid Esbaitah, and board members Omar Al Quoka, Nasser Al Attar and Fahad Al Ibrahim.

Commenting on Al Mazaya's results, Al Nafisi said:

"Al Mazaya has managed to achieve stable profits through careful planning and precautionary measures put in place by the company in 2009 as a response to the global financial crisis. As we all know, Al Mazaya has adopted a series of precautionary measures to protect the company and its projects, to avoid losses and reap big returns hence the company did not reverse any provisions booked on 2008 financial statement amounts to Dhs880m.

"Al Mazaya's total assets reached Dhs4,429m, while shareholders' equity reached Dhs2,076m, and total liabilities (15% of company assets and 33% of shareholders equity) reached Dhs679m", added Al Nafisi.

He went on to say that Al Mazaya has adopted every possible means to sustain the relative profits of Q1 2009, reaping returns of Dhs277m.

Al Nafisi noted that shareholders are always a top priority for Al Mazaya, and the company is always looking for available opportunities to achieve growth of returns for its shareholders. He added that the company is preparing to receive profits from its projects in Kuwait, and is planning to maximize profits for shareholders as the company is considering a merger plan with First Dubai Real Estate Development with Al Shal Consultancy, one of the leading financial consultancy companies, conducting a feasibility study on the merger process.

Al Nafisi said that the profits achieved by Al Mazaya were the result of a settlement done through First Dubai Real Estate Development, a subsidiary of Al Mazaya, with the Emirati company Amlak concerning a sale agreement for the Sky Gardens project, in addition to profits achieved through other projects.

Regarding Al Mazaya's current projects, Al Nafisi said that the company is working on completing its portfolio of projects both in Kuwait and abroad, and is studying several projects and investment opportunities that would reap big returns.

Al Nafisi talked about Al Mazaya's near-completed projects, such as the Kuwait Business Town, which caters for the demand of office space, and comprises a 22-storey tower to be completed in 2009, Al Nafisi added that the 7 Zones project, which caters for the demand of the commercial sector and warehouse and office spaces, is 100% complete,. Al Mazaya has registered 7 Zones as an exclusive trademark, and plans to expand this trademark to several countries in the region, including Bahrain, The UAE, Jordan and Lebanon.

Al Mazaya has also made significant progress in the Clover Clinic project, the company's first investment in healthcare sector. The Dhs88m project, which is now 60% complete, occupies 4,000 square meters and will be operated on a build, operate, transfer (B.O.T.) basis. Al Mazaya will register this trademark as an exclusive brand for the company, and is planning to expand the concept into other GCC markets.

Al Nafisi said that Al Mazaya's projects in Dubai are progressing well and according to their proposed schedules, and the company has recently delivered the Icon Towers project at Jumeirah Lake Towers, while its Business Avenue project is now 65% complete, The Villas project is 85% complete, and the Al Liwan project in Dubailand is 30% complete. Al Nafisi added that all these project have been 80% sold, with over 60% profits achieved from sales, which would help move the development progress of projects onward.