Jabal Omar Development, Saudi Arabia’s largest listed real estate group by market capitalisation, has announced a quarterly net profit of $184 million, up from a loss of $33.8 million for the same period in 2015.
In a statement released on its website, the developer said that the profit growth was the highest in the company’s history. It added that it had gained $2.35 million in the previous quarter, with a profit increase of 7182%.
Gross profit reached $186.06 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $6.98 million for the same quarter of the previous year after adjustment. This represented a profit increase of 2563.57%.
“We are delighted to achieve these profits and growth in record time. The company will continue to consolidate its position and strengthen its capacity to continue in the implementation and marketing of its hotels, commercial and residential projects, which is considered influential in the performance of the company in the future and in accordance with the vision of 2030 of the kingdom,” said Yasir bin Faisal Al Sharif, CEO of the real estate group.
The group’s total operating profit during the period reached $192.4 million, against a loss of $25.29 million in the same quarter of 2015, increasing profit by 861%. Net profit for the current period amounted to $154.92 million, as compared to $24.50 million the previous year, an increase in profit of 532%.
Al Sharif said that its hotels – Conrad Jabal Omar, Hyatt Regency Jabal Omar, Hilton Suites Jabal Omar and Marriott Jabal Omar – had also registered steady growth over the course of the year.
As a result, the group is now planning to add another chain of hotels to its range of business centres and luxury apartments, the CEO said.
“These new properties will help meet the needs of different groups, which contribute to strengthen the company’s varied revenues, as well as meeting the increase on hotel, residential and commercial demand under the kingdom’s vision to double the number of pilgrims,” he said.
Jabal Omar Development has a number of high-profile projects in Makkah’s Jabal Omar district, which is near the Holy Mosque.
The developer is currently working on the $3.2 billion Jabal Omar Development in Makkah, which consists of 40 residential towers, which will accommodate 160,000 pilgrims, along with a prayer hall that will hold 200,000 worshippers.
Progress on the site is well underway, with half the work in Phases One to Four complete, the developer said. Four hotels from the first phase are already operational, with a fifth expected to be open by the end of the year.
The project is scheduled to be completed by 2020.