Malta Properties Company (MPC) Plc saw profits before tax doubling to €12.78m in 2018 from €6.13m in 2017, the company announced during its fourth annual general meeting (AGM), according to a press statement sent to Business Malta. The AGM also approved a dividend of €0.01 per share. MPC grew its net asset value by a year-on-year 26% to 51 eurocents per share in 2018.
“The increase in profit before tax is impressive and represents another executed milestone of our long-term strategy. As a result of this performance and continued healthy cash flow generation, for the first time, we have proposed a dividend,” said MPC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Deepak Padmanabhan.
“This is indeed an important milestone in any listed company’s history and more so in our case as the company also builds reserves to be able to pursue growth.” Mr Padmanabhan gave a progress update on various key projects. The completed redevelopment of its site at Floriana has now been fully leased while significant progress has also been registered at the site in Zejtun. Planning for the redevelopment of MPC’s site in Marsa is also well underway,” the chairman CEO added.
Chief Financial Officer Daniela Zammit went through the key highlights which led to MPC’s positive results, including the level of rental income reached, the decrease in administrative expenses and the sale of properties at a price higher than their book value. She added that the group has been able to retain its strong financial position with a low gearing ratio and an adequate interest cover, while giving a sufficient return on equity when benchmarked against the best performing local companies, according to the press statement.
Mr Padmanabhan described ongoing negotiations with Dubai Holding for the acquisition of a majority shareholding in SmartCity Malta as a potentially “game-changing” opportunity. The chairman CEO added that the “progress on this deal continues to be made with the due diligence completed and negotiations on the final transaction ongoing.”