Tecom Groups posts 43.4% growth in first-half net profit

Tecom Group on Wednesday said its first-half net profit climbed 43.4 per cent to Dh428 million on sustained increase in occupancy rates across all segments, operational efficiencies and lower total financing costs.

In a statement, the newly-listed DFM listed group said its strong year-to-date performance underpinned by continued buoyancy in Dubai’s economy and improving business sentiment.

“Our strong performance in the first half of the year builds on our solid performance in 2021 and underscores the strength of our well-balanced business model and the resilience of our diversified portfolio of quality, strategically located assets and value-added services,” Abdulla Belhoul, chief executive officer of Tecom Group, said.

“At the end of the period, the consolidated occupancy level at our operating assets was 82 per cent, an encouraging increase from the 78 per cent at the end of December 2021, reflecting positive business sentiment of our over 7,800 customers and reinforces our leadership position in Dubai. Our performance also reflects the constructive demand-supply dynamics of the commercial and industrial real estate market,” he said.

The group’s revenues surged 15.8 per cent to Dh989 million during the January-June 2022 was driven by higher occupancy rates across commercial and industrial leading segments, further boosted by remarkable performance of services and others segment. Consistent increase in cash from operations and enhanced revenue visibility driven by high customer retention rate, reflects quality of customer base, it said.

“We are optimistic in our ability to sustain a steady increase in our occupancy levels and high customer retention levels for the upcoming period. This will add further stability to our revenue and cash flow for the midterm,” Belhoul said. Furthermore, he said our well-defined strategy for growth will enable us to take advantage of a broad spectrum of growth drivers from secular trends pertaining to each of the six vital sectors we cater to.

“Our scale, resilient financial performance through various market cycles, strategic land bank, experienced team, and current strong leverage position will enable us to swiftly capture those opportunities, further supporting long-term sustainable growth and helping to unlock additional value for our shareholders,” he said.

—muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com