KUWAIT: United Real Estate Company K.S.C.P (URC), one of the leading real estate developers in the MENA region, announced its financial results for the year 2018, recording a KD 103.5 million in revenues as compared to KD 87 million in 2017, and net loss of KD 9 million in 2018 as compared to net profit of KD 2.2 million for the year end 2017.
The decrease in the company's profits was due to several factors mainly from decline in properties value inside and outside Kuwait including the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the increase in the annual amortization of BOT investments in Kuwait due to the near end of these investments period.
The total assets of United Real Estate Company increased by 2.39 percent to reach KD 617 million, as compared to KD 602 million in 2017. The company recorded a decrease in operating profit from KD 21 million in 2017 to reach KD 9 million during 2018 for the same reasons as the company's losses in 2018.
Commenting on the results, Tariq Mohammed AbdulSalam, Chairman of URC, said that despite the announced losses, the company has achieved number of positive and promising achievements for the future, the most important of which is the maintaining same operational performance (before provisions) and the continued growth in the services and construction sectors in line with the company's recent diversification strategy.
In the same year, the company succeeded in issuing KD 60 million worth of bonds for five years with strong demand from high net worth individuals and institutions, reflecting investor confidence in the strategy put in place by the company.