Thursday, Jun 16, 2011
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Lebanon's real estate developer Solidere (SOLA.LE) Wednesday said its 2010 full-year net profit rose 8% to $196.5 million compared with the previous year, driven by revenue earned on sales contracts from earlier years.
The country's largest listed company said it achieved the 8% growth in profit despite local and regional circumstances that had a negative impact on the country's economy and its commercial and real estate sectors last year.
Solidere's 2010 net profit falls short of the forecasts by the two local research and investment firms Audi Capital and Blominvest Bank which had predicted a net profit of $214.6 million and $224 million respectively.
The property developer, whose full name is The Lebanese Co. for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District, said in a statement that it didn't sign any new sales' contracts in 2010.
Revenues realized on previous sales contracts rose 10% to $337 million from $305 million in 2009, according to the statement.
Solidere said it is in talks with a number of investors, and expects to sign some new contracts in the next few months.
Despite the real estate sector slowdown which could affect profits in coming years, the company still enjoys a robust position with total assets worth about $10 billion, Solidere said in the statement.
The company's shares, which are usually sensitive to political developments in Lebanon, fell Tuesday and Wednesday despite the formation of the country's long-awaited new cabinet. Solidere's "A" shares traded heavily and closed 1.7% lower at $17.84 while its "B" shares fell 0.9% to $18.07 in an overall negative market Wednesday.
-By Shikrallah Nakhoul, Zawya Dow Jones, +961 1 985757, shikrallah@zawya.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
16-06-11 0437GMT
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Lebanon's real estate developer Solidere (SOLA.LE) Wednesday said its 2010 full-year net profit rose 8% to $196.5 million compared with the previous year, driven by revenue earned on sales contracts from earlier years.
The country's largest listed company said it achieved the 8% growth in profit despite local and regional circumstances that had a negative impact on the country's economy and its commercial and real estate sectors last year.
Solidere's 2010 net profit falls short of the forecasts by the two local research and investment firms Audi Capital and Blominvest Bank which had predicted a net profit of $214.6 million and $224 million respectively.
The property developer, whose full name is The Lebanese Co. for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District, said in a statement that it didn't sign any new sales' contracts in 2010.
Revenues realized on previous sales contracts rose 10% to $337 million from $305 million in 2009, according to the statement.
Solidere said it is in talks with a number of investors, and expects to sign some new contracts in the next few months.
Despite the real estate sector slowdown which could affect profits in coming years, the company still enjoys a robust position with total assets worth about $10 billion, Solidere said in the statement.
The company's shares, which are usually sensitive to political developments in Lebanon, fell Tuesday and Wednesday despite the formation of the country's long-awaited new cabinet. Solidere's "A" shares traded heavily and closed 1.7% lower at $17.84 while its "B" shares fell 0.9% to $18.07 in an overall negative market Wednesday.
-By Shikrallah Nakhoul, Zawya Dow Jones, +961 1 985757, shikrallah@zawya.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
16-06-11 0437GMT
