H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali (third right), Chairman of the Board of Directors and other officials during the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of Barwa Real Estate Company held yesterday.
Doha: Barwa Real Estate Company Q.P.S.C. (BREC) held its Ordinary General Assembly Meeting (AGM) yesterday, after attaining the required quorum with an attendance percentage of (59.44 percent). The Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting was postponed to March 14 due to the lack of a quorum set for it.
The meeting, which was held at the company’s headquarters, amid the application of all precautionary measures issued by the state to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, was attended by BREC’s Chairman, Directors, Barwa Real Estate CEO, and the auditor, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry – Companies Control Section.
During the General Assembly, the Board of Directors’ report on the company’s activity and financial position was approved for the fiscal year ending on (31/12/2021), in addition to the company’s future plan for the year 2022. As well, it approved the company’s balance sheet and profit/loss statement for the fiscal year ending on (31/12/2021), the Auditor’s Report, the Corporate Governance Report, and the Sharia Supervisory Board Report for the fiscal year ending on (31/12/2021). Moreover, it has also approved the appointment of a new Shariah Supervisory Board for the year 2022.
The Ordinary General Assembly also approved the proposal of the Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends of QR0.175 per share (17.5 percent of the nominal share value), and to absolving the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors of any liability for the fiscal year ending on 12/31/ 2021, determining their remuneration, appointing auditors for the 2022 fiscal year, and determining their fees.
During the meeting, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors, reviewed the BOD Report, which included a comprehensive overview of BREC’s activities, performance and consolidated financial statements for the year 2021, as well as its future plans.
He said “During 2021, Barwa Real Estate Group managed to maintain its leadership in the field of real estate development, thanks to the tremendous efforts exerted by the members of the Board, the executive management and all employees and subsidiaries during the fiscal year 2021, despite the ongoing challenges and difficulties resulting from the repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic.
He commended the distinguished efforts of the State in facing such repercussions by providing multiple support packages to the national economy in general and the real estate sector in particular.
In terms of financial performance, he explained that despite the decline in the net profit for 2021 compared to 2020, by QR96m, as a result of the decrease in the value of some non-recurring items such as profits from the appraisal of investment properties and other revenues, which decline amounted to QR609m. However, the group managed to compensate for this by increasing its operating profits from rents, service revenues and revenues from the sale of real estate, contracting activity and other operational activities by a value of QR409m. This is a huge achievement, especially in light of the challenges the real estate market is witnessing.
His Excellency added: “One of the main objectives of the Company is to develop a balanced real estate portfolio that faces the risk of fluctuations in the real estate market, meets its needs, supports the development plans of the State and takes into account the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); in a way that increases sustainable returns for shareholders.”
As for the future plans, he said: “Since 2022 will be an exceptional year, we have prepared a clear strategic plan that has been precisely and carefully drawn up to outline all the guidelines of our business during 2022. In this sense, we will work during 2022 on several axes that represent the main pillars of the Company’s directions during the next phase, namely: increasing revenues through studying and working on general plans and feasibility studies for many new projects on the Company’s existing lands, rationalizing all expenditures , and improving the Company’s brand, as well as raising the efficiency of the corporate system.”
In a related context, Abdullah bin Jubara Al Rumaihi, CEO of Barwa Real Estate Group, said: “Barwa Real Estate has efficiently and effectively continued its Business Strategy and has adopted carefully studied action plans, accompanied by an integrated package of procedures and measures that led the group to present a successful model in the face of the repercussions and side effects of the pandemic. At the same time, it contributed to the launch of new sustainable projects,” Al-Rumaihi emphasized that the workflow of the projects under construction runs as per the specified schedule.
Al Rumaihi added: “During the past year, the Group has come a long way in its projects under development, as the construction works of the “Madinatna” and “Barahat Al Janoub” projects will be completed during the current year. Thus, Barwa Real Estate will play its role to contribute to meeting the needs of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The first step was executing a lease contract with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, for the purpose of leasing all housing units in the Madinatna project, for a period of 6 months starting from August 1, 2022. It is expected that this contract will contribute in increasing the company’s operating income during the lease term.
Furthermore, he clarified that the Group is continuing work as per the timeline on the Qatar Schools Project (Package 1) to develop 8 sustainable schools to be a true legacy for future generations. He pointed out that the completion rate in this project has reached advanced stages in preparation for its commissioning at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year. Al-Rumaihi also stressed that these projects deepen the principle of Barwa’s strategic partnership with the government of the State of Qatar.
Al Rumaihi said: “During 2022, which will witness a number of major events, foremost of which Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022, we have prepared a clear strategic plan to figure out all ways and methods to follow up on Barwa Real Estate business and projects, and the type of value it will add to the Group’s investment portfolio. The purpose is to keep up with the needs of real estate market and stakeholders, with a focus on creating long-term value. Besides, we will put into practice our knowledge and experience more than ever before to reach the goals and objectives required to implement this plan, and fulfill our duties in supporting Qatar’s needs to achieve a successful hosting of FIFA World Cup 2020, in a way that enhances Barwa Real Estate’s role as a leading national group in the field of real estate development.
