Record breaking year for MMI in 2004

Mr. Gary Chapman, MMI Chairman and President of DNATA and Associated Companies, Emirates Group, and Mr. Kerem Camcigil, CEO of MMI, made the announcement at the company's annual meeting, held at Le Meridien Hotel Dubai, last month.

"2004 was another exceptional year," said MMI CEO, Kerem Camcigil. "For the second year running, the team achieved the best financial performance in MMI's long history. All the MMI businesses - MMI Beverages, MMI Consumer, MMI Leisure & Costa Coffee, MMI Travel and OUA in Oman - performed strongly, well ahead of the overall economy and relevant market segments in the region. It was a particularly satisfying performance because of the consistency and quality of results achieved across the businesses.

"MMI's strategy of shifting its focus to consumer-facing businesses continues to prove successful. We have been forward-integrating and re-shaping the company to support Dubai's rapid expansion and development into leisure, tourism and retailing. With this, and our strong drive to ensure we meet our customer needs, we believe we are now very well positioned to benefit from the development of Dubai's consumer markets."

2004 was another landmark year for MMI, during which the company grew substantially - staff numbers rose from 350 to 480 - and the company acquired the Duty Free Dubai Ports business.

MMI Travel and its inbound travel business - Gulf Ventures - performed strongly with a focus on the leisure travel and incentives segments. The Costa Coffee business continued to flourish with seven new stores opening in 2004, across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman. MMI's new bar-restaurant at the Souq Madinat Jumeirah - 'Left Bank' - proved to be an instant hit. MMI Beverages benefited from the very high levels of occupancy amongst Dubai hotels. MMI Consumer created a new focus on confectionery in 2004, reflecting the segment's rapid growth, and also supported the launch of several new products from key principals. Meanwhile, OUA in Oman, and its new operations in Salalah, grew strongly.

"MMI remains committed to regional expansion, long term. Our Oman business interests are performing well and MMI will continue to explore opportunities for further potential alliances. We have the twin advantages of being based in Dubai - the regional hub for many commercial activities - and actively supported by the Emirates Group, so we are well-positioned to attract prospective partners," concluded Mr. Camcigil.

Gary Chapman, Chairman of MMI, told staff at the annual meeting: "The Dubai economic juggernaut just keeps on rolling and to be successful, MMI must continue to capitalise on the opportunities this creates. MMI is following the right path, as the outstanding results of recent years have shown, and the team is doing a great job. The repositioning of MMI as a more consumer-focused company is leading to rapid growth and development. The pleasing factor about the 2004 results was that each business in the MMI portfolio performed outstandingly and that the focus on quality - that extra effort and attention to detail - really made a noticeable difference."