Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, announced the Company's financial results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
The consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2008 increased by 5% when compared to the results for the first quarter of 2007. The results when compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 were in excess of SR 47 million or approximately a 19% increase.
Consolidated revenues for the first quarter were impacted by a slight reduction in hotel revenue due to the sale of one of the certain hotels owned by the Company together with the reduction in dividend income from Citigroup. These reductions were offset by an increase in income from associated companies and the gain from the sale of the Monte Carlos Grand Hotel in Monaco in 2008. Income from Operations for the first quarter of 2008 decreased by SR 32 million when compared to same quarter 2007 as a result of the additional depreciation and amortization expense. However, the effect of reduced borrowing cost (due to reduced rates) during 2008 contributed to a net increase of Income before Minority Interests of Consolidated Subsidiaries and Net Income. Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2008, based on the 6.3 billion shares outstanding equaled SR .048 per share as compared to SR .046 for the 2007 Quarter respectively, an increase of 5%.
The Company continued to realize gains from their hotel operations through their majority-owned subsidiaries which include Kingdom Hotel Investments, and its hotel management subsidiary, Fairmont Raffles Hotels and its 45% owned associate, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. During the fourth quarter of 2007, Fairmont was successful in selling certain of its non-strategic hotel assets and accordingly reduced its debt and generated cash which was distributed to Kingdom Holding Company and the minority shareholder of Fairmont. The gain from the sale of Monte Carlo contributed favorably to the current quarter.
With respect to its operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company is continuing to pursue its development plans for their landmark project in Jeddah and its real estate development north of Riyadh. The Jeddah project has an area of 5.3 million square meters and is located in the city's northern area on the Red Sea coastline, which is a strategic area for the development of this project. The investment project will comprise of a colossal sky scraper with a surrounding area for other facilities (residential, commercial, construction of a five star hotel and offices). The project will also connect the Red Sea coastline of the area to Sharm Obhur.
The other real estate project in Riyadh consists of 16.7 million square meters. It is located on the Dammam highway and 15 minutes drive from the center of the City. Among other facilities, the project will include a leisure resort and facilities managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with an area of 1 million square meters.
The Chairman believes that the Company's first quarter results of operations, despite the current turbulent times in the global economies, are indicative of its ability to maintain it growth for the future. The Prince added, "I am pleased with the results and I am hopeful and confident with God Almighty's help that Kingdom Holding Company will remain focused on achieving the best returns to all its shareholders".
KHC Board Members chaired by HRH are Eng. Talal Al Maiman, Executive Director for Development and Domestic Investments, Mr. P.J Shoucair, Executive Director for International Investments, Eng. Ahmed Halawani, Executive Director for Private Equity and Mr. Shadi Sanbar is the CFO of KHC. The Independent Board Members of KHC are Mr. Saleh Al Sagri, Dr. Khaled Al-Saheem, Eng. Ammar Al-Khudairy, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Madhoun and Mr. Taher Aqil.
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About KHC:
KHC is one of the worlds most successful and diversified business organizations, highly respected in the field of investment and recognized as an elite player in the Arabian Gulf region and internationally. KHC was founded in 1980 where initially the Company focused on construction activities, housing development and educational projects. Today, KHC's portfolio has its main interest in hotels and hotel management, financial services, real estate, technology and media. KHC also has stakes in other Saudi publicly traded companies in the various sectors; banking through Samba, food via Savola, industrial through Tasnee and media via SRMG. Other KHC investments include Telecommunications, retail, tourism, consumer and healthcare. Moreover, the company's portfolio contains many renowned brands and blue-chip companies including Citigroup, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, News Corporation, Time Warner, Songbird Estates (Canary Wharf, London), Apple, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Walt Disney Co and Eastman Kodak. In addition to its public company activities, KHC is also extremely active in the area of private equity in Saudi Arabia and developing markets within the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
© Press Release 2008
