By John Irish and Jason Benham
DUBAI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Co said on Saturday first half profit rose 35 percent on land, property sales, and after exiting some of its affiliates.
Barwa, a unit of the country's sovereign wealth fund, did not give a breakdown of its quarterly results.
Net income for the three months to June 30 was 180.2 million riyals from a loss of 55 million riyals in the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations.
'Growth in net profits resulted from concluding sale deals to a number of land plots and properties owned by the company and exiting from some of its affiliates and subsidiaries,' it said in a statement.
Qatar's property sector has suffered property price drops of about 30 percent since the start of the year. But the economy, of the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, could grow 7 percent or more in real terms in 2009 as it boosts gas production, its central bank has said.
Barwa said in July it will study the merger of several of its units and in January the government ordered a merger between Barwa and Qatar Real Estate Investment Co, a move aimed at helping the firm weather the global financial crisis.
Barwa made 374 million Qatari riyals in the first half of the year from 277 million riyals in the same period last year.
The company's total assets stood at 27.5 billion riyals.
'These profits have been recorded despite the fact that the company retained reserves to mitigate depreciation in investments and to face increases in operational expenses,' it said without giving details.
Barwa made a profit of 193.8 million riyals in the first quarter. Reuters calculated the second quarter profit based on previous financial statements.
Barwa's Egyptian unit will begin building a $9 billion Cairo project in the first quarter of 2010 to tap strong demand for residential property in the north African country, it said on Aug 11.
Real estate and construction firms in the Gulf Arab region are increasingly looking at opportunities in the most populous Arab country, to help weather a downturn in their home markets.
(Reporting by John Irish and Jason Benham; Editing by Victoria Main) ($1=3.638 riyals) Keywords: BARWA EARNINGS/ (john.irish@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: john.irish.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
DUBAI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Co said on Saturday first half profit rose 35 percent on land, property sales, and after exiting some of its affiliates.
Barwa, a unit of the country's sovereign wealth fund, did not give a breakdown of its quarterly results.
Net income for the three months to June 30 was 180.2 million riyals from a loss of 55 million riyals in the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations.
'Growth in net profits resulted from concluding sale deals to a number of land plots and properties owned by the company and exiting from some of its affiliates and subsidiaries,' it said in a statement.
Qatar's property sector has suffered property price drops of about 30 percent since the start of the year. But the economy, of the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, could grow 7 percent or more in real terms in 2009 as it boosts gas production, its central bank has said.
Barwa said in July it will study the merger of several of its units and in January the government ordered a merger between Barwa and Qatar Real Estate Investment Co, a move aimed at helping the firm weather the global financial crisis.
Barwa made 374 million Qatari riyals in the first half of the year from 277 million riyals in the same period last year.
The company's total assets stood at 27.5 billion riyals.
'These profits have been recorded despite the fact that the company retained reserves to mitigate depreciation in investments and to face increases in operational expenses,' it said without giving details.
Barwa made a profit of 193.8 million riyals in the first quarter. Reuters calculated the second quarter profit based on previous financial statements.
Barwa's Egyptian unit will begin building a $9 billion Cairo project in the first quarter of 2010 to tap strong demand for residential property in the north African country, it said on Aug 11.
Real estate and construction firms in the Gulf Arab region are increasingly looking at opportunities in the most populous Arab country, to help weather a downturn in their home markets.
(Reporting by John Irish and Jason Benham; Editing by Victoria Main) ($1=3.638 riyals) Keywords: BARWA EARNINGS/ (john.irish@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: john.irish.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.