United Real Estate Company Holds its Annual General Assembly Meeting for Year Ended 31 December 2022

May 06 , 2023

United Real Estate Company (URC), a leading real estate developer in Kuwait and the MENA region, held its Ordinary Annual General Assembly Meeting (AGM) for the financial year ended 31 December 2022 at the Company’s headquarters at KIPCO Tower in Sharq. The AGM quorum was 70.695%.

The General Assembly approved all items on the agenda, including the report of the Board of Directors and the report of the external auditor. It also reviewed the most important milestones achieved by URC during the fiscal year ended 31 December 2022.

In his speech at the AGM, Mr. Mazen Hawwa, URC Vice-Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, highlighted that in 2022, URC continued to achieve remarkable progress under its clear integrated strategy that focuses on boosting the core real estate company activities.

The year 2022 witnessed the completion of URC’s merger process by amalgamation with United Towers Holding Company (UTHC) and Al Dhiyafa Holding Company (DHC), in which the shareholders agreed to increase URC’s capital by KD 24.3 million from KD 118.8 million to KD 143.1 million.

As the merger process is concluded, the existing business of UTHC and DHC are assumed by URC. This transaction enhances URC’s operational performance and financial competitiveness by expanding and diversifying its asset portfolio, thereby increasing its revenues and shareholder value.

Mr. Hawwa further emphasized that the benefits of this merger could only have been achieved with the trust of all parties. He also extended his appreciation to all the regulatory and supervisory authorities, namely the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), for their invaluable support and guidance throughout and for their determination to safeguard the interests of all concerned parties.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the valuable efforts of all the team members and associated partners involved in this transaction and I would like to extend our gratitude to them as well,” he added.

Additionally, the company reported a net profit of KD 3.38 million for the year ended 31 December 2022, while earnings per share is up to 3.14 fils, compared to a net loss of KD 4.96 million and a loss per share of 4.62 fils for the same period in 2021. This marks an increase of KD 8.34 million compared to the year 2021.

Mr. Hawwa further indicated that the stable growth rates achieved in net profits during the year 2022 can be primarily attributed to increased gross profits from URC’s subsidiaries that service the rental, hospitality and real estate sectors. Additional positive impacts to the gross profit can be ascribed to the KD 1.2 million in profit that was realized when URC exited from Kuwait Hotels Company (KHC) in a deal valued at KD 3.1 million, as well as the aforementioned merger deal implemented by URC during the year 2022.

On the operational front, Mr. Hawwa mentioned that the group company also witnessed a noticeable improvement in its operational performance, as the United Facilities Management Company K.S.C.C (UFM), a subsidiary of URC, achieved a 27% increase in revenues from real estate services.

“URC continues to focus on operational excellence. This is best demonstrated by the imminent completion of the residential towers in the “Hessah District” project that are expected to be handed over by the end of 2023,” Mr. Hawwa said.

In line with URC’s strategic vision to maintain its leadership position by continuing to drive growth, keep pace with market changes and meet the aspirations of its customers, several strategies were formed and adopted with the aim of continuing to achieve operational efficiency, foster digitalization, and adhere to high standards of social responsibility.