United Development Company Q.P.S.C. (UDCD) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, everyone, and welcome to United Development Conference Call. Please note that this call is being recorded. I'd now like to hand over to Roy Thomas, moderator for today's session. Roy, thank you.

Thanks, Eli. Hello, everyone. This is Roy Thomas from QNB Financial Services. I want to welcome everyone to United Development Company's Second Quarter and First Half 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. On this call from United Development Company, we have Maher Omar Naim, the Executive Director of Financial Planning; and Karim Farhat, the Executive Director of Finance. We will conduct this conference call with management first reviewing the company's results followed by Q&A. I will turn the call now over to Maher Naim. Go ahead, Maher. Hello. Eli, can you check if Maher is still on the line, please?

Yes. I'm still on the line, yes.

Yes. Okay. Go ahead, Maher, you can go ahead.

I already started. You have stopped me. So let me start again. Okay. The company, United Development Company, the financial results for the first half of the year 2024. We have -- the company has achieved QAR 829 million revenue with a net profit of QAR 150 million and net to profit attributable to the equity holder of the company, the shareholders, QAR 145 million. And while the earnings per share is QAR 0.041. The company has still committed on completing it's development Gewan Island. And hopefully, this will be witnessed throughout the year, towards the end of the year 2024 for the mixed-use building and other related infrastructure development. And this is, hopefully will add on to the completion of the projects and the success of the company. So, and we are, as has been disclosed that we have condition and we have accepted that condition and offer, where condition is accepted, the offer from Qatar Investment Authority for the sale of 40% share of UDC in Qatar Cool to QIA, Qatar Investment Authority. Having said this, the transaction documents are being finalized and where are the SPAs, the transfer of shares, all the legally required document. We anticipate that this shall be concluded towards the end of the year 2024. So these are -- this is one of the major updates that the company has. I leave now the floor to the participants. So if they have any questions, please go ahead.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Zohaib Pervez from Al Rayan Investment. Your line is now open.

[Foreign Language] Thank you for this opportunity, and congratulations on your performance. I have a question regarding your guidance for new units introduced [Foreign Language] this year and next year. Could you give us some clarity or guidance on how many units you will have and on your expected occupancy of these new units and whether they will be leased or sold?

Now the new units is from the 15 mixed-use building in Gewan. It is 586 units. Some of them won't be for sale and some of them won't be for leasing. So the overall completion of such buildings, maybe will be by the end of Q3, early Q4 2024. So the expectation, either the materialization of the revenue, maybe by the year 2024. But if not achieved, okay, it will be definitely in the year 2025, the first quarter of the year. So the mix between the leasing and sales, it is -- the majority would be for sales, maybe in the magnitude of 60% to 40%. But this is subject to change demanding if there is an appetite for more, okay, for sale, it could be done or leasing. And this is being decided. But indeed, the contractors are in the last stage of finalization of the related fit out work. You know the civil defense approval and other regulatory approval will be required. So towards the end of the year or beginning of the year, hopefully, the recognition will be made.

Our next question comes from [indiscernible] from QIC.

I already have three questions. One is, may I know the reason for your drop in the revenue in the first half compared to last year? And how are we -- I mean, some color on the revenue outlook for the next year? That's one. And second is the reason for the drop in the operating income first half this year. That's all.