ODH slips into the red in the first quarter
Orascom Development Holding reports a net loss of CHF 4.2 million for the first quarter of 2020.
In the first quarter of the current year, Orascom Development Holding (ODH) said it recorded revenues of CHF92.9 million, down 5.3% from 98.1 million in the same period last year. Gross profit fell from 30.1m to 23.4m. Adjusted EBITDA fell to 15.2 million from 20.6 million, and EBITDA was 13.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, down from 21.7 million in the year-ago period.
Operating margins were significantly impacted by the complete closure of the hotel business due to the Covid 19 pandemic, ODH said. As a result, the company reported a net loss of 4.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. In the first quarter of 2019, ODH had made a profit of 1.1 million.
"Despite the disruption caused by Covid-19, ODH is confident in the underlying resilience of its business and operating model," affirms Abdelhamid Abouyoussef, member of the Executive Committee. It has a strong balance sheet and is confident that its liquidity needs remain well covered in these challenging times, he added. The Group is accelerating its construction activities and is committed to delivering all contracted supplies on time.
In the real estate segment, ODH reported a 1.8% increase in net property sales to 107.7m from 105.8m. According to the company, the increase is mainly due to the increase in sales in the Egyptian destinations.
In the hotels segment, after a good start to the year, operations have been significantly impacted since the beginning of March due to the pandemic, ODH added. Hotels revenue reportedly fell 22.5% to 35.8 million in the first quarter of 2020 from 46.2 million a year ago. Gross profit slumped 40.3% y-o-y to 12.0 million. Segment EBITDA fell by43.9% to9.6 million.
In Destination Management, revenue in the first quarter of this year increased byTP23.1% to 12.8 million, and EBITDA rose to 0.9 million - compared to a loss of 1.1 million last year. The reason for the increases was said to be higher revenue from utility functions (including water and electricity), as more El Gouna homeowners preferred to stay in quarantine there than in Cairo, which was accompanied by higher utility demand. (ah)
