Seef Mall Muharraq, a $50 million project, will be ready to receive customers by July this year, it has emerged.

The project is an equal stakes joint venture between Seef Properties and Muharraq Mall Company.

“The mall is fully leased and anchored by a Geant Hypermarket and a 14-screen cinema complex, operated by Grand Cinemas,” Seef Properties general manager Robert Addison told shareholders during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) at Fraser Suites, Seef Mall, yesterday.

Seef Properties is handling the leasing and management of Seef Mall Muharraq.

“We are also continuing to enhance the appeal and attractiveness of our principal asset, Seef Mall, and this year will see a fast-track renovation of Magic Island that will not only significantly boost revenue and profits but also drive much increased footfall to the mall,” Mr Addison said.

“Year-on-year customer traffic to the mall is up almost 10 per cent and continues to grow.”

According to the general manager, the company was also “actively looking for our next significant project that will enable us to achieve our strategic plans.”

The AGM saw approval of a 10 per cent cash distribution to shareholders at the rate of 10 fils per share. Seef Properties reported a 21.2pc jump in net profit at BD10.02m ($26.5m) for last year when compared with BD8.27m in 2012.

Operating revenues saw an increase of 4.7pc to BD12.19m. Earnings totalled BD7.12m compared with BD6.9m in 2012 (which excludes an exceptional gain of BD1.08m on sale of land), an increase of 3.2pc.

Seef Properties chairman Essa Mohammed Najibi said the company’s primary sources of revenue is derived from associated leasing operations of own assets, hospitality and leisure business.

“Increasing footfall and demand for units in our prime asset, Seef Mall, shows that the property remains an attractive destination for customers and tenants,” he added.

“Further evidence of the recovering economy was shown in the performance of our serviced apartments managed by Fraser Suites where revenue increased by 16.2pc.

The improvement in our earning is reflected in an increase in group operating profit plus investment property value by BD2.89m.

“We also intend to analyse our portfolio and create business plans for each property to extract maximum value,” he said.

Major shareholders of Seef Properties include the General Organisation for Social Insurance, Royal Charity Organisation, Kuwait Finance House and the Al Bayan Group. avinash@gdn.com.bh

Source: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=372738

In: News Asked By: askbahrain [476 ]