United Development Company (UDC), one of Qatar's leading public shareholding companies, said 2008 had been a year of solid performance across the UDC portfolio of projects and operations with revenues exceeding QR2.1 billion ($577 million).

"Our net profit and earnings per share have improved, by 100 per cent and 72 per cent to QR687 million and QR5.44 respectively," UDC chairman Hussein AlFardan said at the annual general meeting held recently.

The company's revenues for 2008 have exceeded QR2.1 billion thus registering a 18 per cent year on year increase, he noted.

"These results not only emphasize the effectiveness of our approach to doing business; they are also a testament to the operational skills that we bring to the array of projects and enterprises we manage within UDC,” he added.

The meeting was held for the first time at The Pearl-Qatar Island, marking the end of the first phase of construction works of UDC’s over QR50 billion ($14 billion) flagship project.

“The year 2008 has shown us that UDC rests upon resilient foundations. The political, social and economic stability of Qatar is not only a result of our mineral wealth, but also of the sustained wisdom and foresight of our country’s leadership,” AlFardan added.
Khalil Sholy, UDC managing director and president expressed confidence in the common strategic purpose that continues to enhance the broad scope of UDC’s business activities, against a challenging global economic situation.

“We remain vigilant for both the opportunities and the threats that inevitably accompany periods of uncertainty in world markets.”

UDC also confirmed that new projects were moving ahead in line with their ambitious schedules and announced the operational progress across its array of projects and partnerships.

These include the establishment of two new fully owned ventures - Scoop, an outdoor advertising company and a marketing and communications agency, and The Pearl for Management and Operations, a project development and asset management company, providing world-class infrastructural services at The Pearl-Qatar.



Source: Trade Arabia News