IFA Hotels records profit of Dh525m

Kuwait-based IFA Hotels & Resorts has recorded a year-end profit of $143 million (Dh525.22m), a 64 per cent rise compared with the same period last year, the company said yesterday.

This translates to earnings per share of 42 cents (111 fils) for the firm, IFA said in a statement.

It added that IFA’s growth is a result of expanding projects in several key markets in the Middle East and South Africa besides a good outlook for its investments made last year in the Indian Ocean region, Europe and the United States.

“We have been building the cornerstones of our projects in the last four years. We have been extremely pro-active and have placed a significant focus in the Middle East, particularly here in Dubai with our mixed-use resorts. We have nearly sold out the majority of our current projects in the region,” IFA Hotels & Resorts Chairman and Managing Director, Talal Jassim Al Bahar, told Emirates Business.

“We hope to continue to perform above market expectations,” he added.

IFA Hotels & Resorts’ growth in terms of profits was 236 per cent last year over the year before, with total profits at about $8 million.

The company’s total revenues jumped 86 per cent from $113.88m in 2007 to $211.47m during 2008.

In May, IFA Hotels & Resorts solidified its presence in Dubai by forming its second joint venture with Nakheel for the acquisition of two more plots of land at $1 billion next to its Kingdom of Sheba resort on the Palm Jumeirah.