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Another successful year for Barwa
Local news
one of the milestones during 2010 was the merger with al aqaria, which enabled Barwa to become the Qatar’s largest
listed real estate company with a market capitalization of Qr11.1 billion
Barwa Real Estate Company
posted an 84% jump in full-year
profit for 2010 on income from
rents and services and profit on
the sale of properties, a company
statement said.
“Increased revenues from rents
and services and profit on the
sale of properties and projects
and sale of Barwa’s stake in a
subsidiary, along with other exceptional
returns resulting from
Barwa being exempted from
some commitments, led to this
increase in net profits during
2010,” the statement said.
Barwa’s Board of Directors recently
held the company’s Ordinary
and Extraordinary General
Assembly Meeting at Doha’s
Ritz Carlton, with more than
75% attendance of shareholders.
The meeting discussed and approved
all items on its agenda,
including increase of the board
members from five to seven
members and amendment to
some of the Articles of Association.
The meeting also discussed
and approved the company’s
performance throughout the
year, its financial position and
Sharia Supervisory Board Report.
Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad,
Chairman and Managing Director,
presented the Board of
Directors report on the activity
of the company and its financial
position for the financial year
ended 31/12/2010, its results
for the year 2010 and plans for
the year 2011.
Al Saad said at the meeting
that in 2010 the global and regional
instability had continued
in financial markets. The world
had not fully recovered from the
crisis that had its impact on all
economies.
Nevertheless, for Barwa the
year 2010 was another successful
year, with many businesses
flourishing and significant
achievements at both
financial and administrative
sides, he said.
“In addition, the company is
progressing in achieving its
strategic goals through striving
hard to continue maintain its
success and growth on local,
regional and international arenas.”
Listing the achievements of
Barwa and its subsidiaries during
2010, Al Saad said that the
net profit for 2010 had surged
by 84% over the same period
in 2009 due to the increase in
total earnings which amounted
to QR8 billion in 2010. The total
earnings in 2010 saw a 266%
rise compared to 2009 when
they were QR3 billion.
Increased revenues from rents
and services and profit on the
sale of properties and projects
along with other returns led to
the increase in net profits during
2010. In 2010, earnings per
share (EPS) reached QR4.06,
compared to QR2.92 per share
during 2009, a 39% increase.
One of the milestones during
2010 was the merger with Al
Aqaria, which enabled Barwa to
become the Qatar’s largest listed
real estate company with a
market capitalization of QR11.1
billion. Complementing the real
estate portfolio of Barwa in
Qatar, Al Aqaria is a significant
addition to Barwa’s asset base,
helping to position the group for
future growth.
Other milestones achieved during
2010 were the successful
completions of some major developments.
Barwa Village was
complete and fully occupied.
Affordable housing projects Masaken
Al Mesaimeer and Masaken
Al Sailiya are also both
complete and largely occupied.
Masaken has won two awards
for its affordable development.
Barwa Al Sadd is in the final
stages of its completion and
Barwa City in its final phase
of construction. Barwa Commercial
Avenue, which aims to
transform the Industrial Area
into a world-class commercial
center, is set to be completed in
2012. The leasing and marketing
strategy for all the projects
in progress are being finalized.
Barwa Financial District, which
has recently been sold to Qatar
Petroleum, has won the “Best
International Office Development”
and the “Overall Best Office
Development” for the Middle
East Region prizes at the
regional and international property
awards held in association
with Bloomberg. Achieving such
a global award is unique for a
commercial development in the
region and it demonstrates Qatar’s
ability to compete in the
highly competitive international
property arena, Al Sadd said.
He pointed out that Barwa had
adopted a comprehensive corporate
governance policy during
2010 to promote strong
accountability and implementinternationally
recognized accounting
standards in making
reserves and allocations, while
maintaining the best results,
profitability and earnings per
share.
To enhance the efficiency and
effectiveness of our processes
and improve our reporting to
support sound decision making,
Barwa implemented an
Enterprise Resource Planning
System (ERP system).
Al Saad disclosed that the plan
for the year 2011 was to continue
this excellence and success
and the true challenge would to
maintain such a record. This,
he said, could only be achieved
by striving to do more.
Barwa’s future plans include a
new flagship tourism resort in
Qatar called Salwa Bay Resort.
Located on the south western
coast of Qatar, it will be developed
over the next six years. It
will feature a mix of residential
and hospitality properties to
deliver new experiences for Qatar’s
tourists.
In addition, Motor City project,
which costs QR2 billion and
covers an area of 1.8sq meters,
is another major future development.
As Qatar prepares to host the
2022 FIFA World Cup, Barwa’s
strategy will focus on capitalizing
on development plans
to support the infrastructural
needs of the country so that
Barwa’s projects contribute to
ensure that the Word Cup is a
resounding success. Therefore,
Barwa strategy’s main
focus shall be on local market
to ensure successful delivery of
infrastructure projects that contribute
to the success of Qatar
economy.
Barwa’s priority during 2011 is
a focus on enhancing business
efficiency and overall growth of
the company. This is in order to
improve net operating revenue
and cash flow through effective
sales and marketing strategies
that ensure the highest standards
of professionalism and
excellence.
The external auditor’s report on
the financials for the year ended
31/12/2010 was presented
by Ahmad Hussein, KPMG &
Partners.
The representative of Sharia
Supervisory Board (SSB) read
the SSB report on the company’s
activities for the financial
year ended 31/12/2010. He
talked on the SSB’s role in the
company as the authority to review
all its activities, confirming
that the contracts and activities
entered into during the financial
year ended 2010, as well as
the calculations of profits and
losses on investment accounts,
Barwa’s board meeting
were done in a manner that did
not conflict with the provisions
of Islamic Sharia.
The Chairman of the Board of
Directors and Managing Director
presented the balance
sheet and profit & loss account
for the financial year ended
31/12/2010 to the shareholders
for discussion and ratification.
They were subsequently
approved by all shareholders.
The AGM then unanimously
approved the Board of Directors’
recommendation to reinvest
90% of profits earned
during the financial year ended
31/12/2010 and to distribute
10% cash dividends.
The EGM unanimously approved
the Board of Directors’
recommendation to increase
its number of members from
five to seven members.
The EGM also approved the
Board of Directors’ recommendation
to amend some of the
company’s Articles of Association.
The AGM agenda included election
of the new board of directors.
Qatari Diar, which is the
main founder of Barwa, named
its representatives in the Board
of Directors as follows:
Hitmi bin Ali Al Hitmi, chairman
of the Board of Directors
Mohammed Asad AlEmadi,
member of the Board of Directors
(Managing Director)
Abdulla Abdulaziz Turki Al
Subai’i, member of the Board
of Directors
The following directors were
also elected to represent the
private sector shareholders:
Mohammed Ibrahim Al Sulaiti
Khalid Mubarak Al Delaimi
Mohammed Abdulaziz Al Saad
Yousif Ali Al Obaidan