United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), a leading commercial real estate and facilities management company today held its General Assembly Meeting for the year ending 31st December 2016 with a quorum of 93.69%. The assembly has approved all items covered in the agenda, including the decision taken against the distribution of dividends for the year ending 2016.
The Company’s financial performance in 2016 continued to improve and profits have increased steadily year-over-year. UPAC reported earnings of KD 8.4, million equivalent to 107.52 fils per share for the full-year 2016, an increase of 25% compared with KD 6.8 million in the previous year. UPAC’s revenue increased by 3.7% to KD 13.2 million, compared with KD 12.8 million in 2015. This strong performance reflects UPAC’s commitment to improving operational efficiencies and reducing costs within existing operations, as well as in setting the stage for future expansion and growth within real estate.
Growth was driven by the company’s income generating projects in Kuwait, where UPAC manages more than 24,000 square meters of commercial space at the Kuwait International Airport, Sheikh Saad Terminal, and Discovery Mall. UPAC is also developing Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi in partnership with National Real Estate Company (NREC) and has committed to invest up to $224 million to support equity funding into the project. Upon completion, Reem Mall will be a major retail, leisure and entertainment destination covering two million square feet.
“This year UPAC has achieved solid results, where we continued to see improvements in our operations and profitability year over year. We have taken the decision to not distribute dividends for 2016, which will fortify UPAC’s liquid capital that will support current and planned investment projects and are expected to generate healthy returns for shareholders in the future,” said Nadia Akil, UPAC CEO.
Since its acquisition by Agility and by way of joining Agility’s infrastructure group of companies, UPAC has grown to become a recognized and trusted provider in the local market and has developed a sound reputation amongst its existing customer base. UPAC’s strategy continues to focus on leveraging and growing its core expertise within the real estate and facilities management sector, growing its customer base and network to build a solid and reliable business.
In 2016, UPAC succeeded in amending its articles to include a wider range of real estate activities – enhancing the company’s current activities and supporting its future growth plans in the real estate sector. The Company also succeeded in increasing its authorized capital to KD 38,250,000. This increase will serve to further boost UPAC’s liquidity and support planned investments and growth opportunities within Kuwait and the wider GCC. In addition, UPAC has implemented the Corporate Governance Framework and endorsed its full activation. The adoption of the framework not only confirms UPAC’s compliance with the Regulations of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), but also serves to further improve existing efficiencies within the Company’s internal control systems.
“We are certain that we would have not achieved these results without the contributions of our employees, partners and shareholders. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for their continued support and dedication in helping us meet our goals and targets for the year.” Akil added.
