Writedown hits bottom line for TDIC with loss of Dh1.13bn

The construction cost of residences in Saadiyat Island is listed at Dh1.93bn in the London filing, under the heading of direct costs from residential sales.

Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company lost Dh1.13 billion last year amid a writedown of more than Dh600 million on hospitality assets.

In a filing of its accounts for last year with the London Stock Exchange on Monday, TDIC said it had agreed to write down Dh658.4m on the sale of hospitality assets for Dh948m. It did not specify what the hospitality assets were.

Construction costs for the developer of Saadiyat Island surged last year. The construction cost of residences there is listed at Dh1.93bn in the London filing, under the heading of direct costs from residential sales. The previous year, similar costs were reported as Dh203 million.

Still, TDIC narrowed its annual loss from Dh2.15bn in 2012. The company, established in 2006, also reported losses in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

TDIC reported revenues of Dh3.5bn, up from Dh1.26bn the previous year.

TDIC’s construction of Saadiyat residences, which include apartments and villas, started in 2010 and was completed in October 2012.

Of the six buildings, which have a total of 495 one to four-bedroom apartments, four were sold last year and one was sold this year. The sixth has not yet been sold.

A TDIC representative credited “strong market demand” for the sale of apartment units.

The units were on sale for anywhere from Dh1.9m to Dh3.7m on property websites.

The units were sold to Emirati and GCC residents. Expats can take a 99-year lease. The Residences at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort has 32 four and five-bedroom villas starting at Dh14.8m. Ninety per cent of the villa inventory has been sold.

The builder of the Louvre and Guggenheim on Saadiyat has increased its bank borrowings to Dh9.05bn over Dh4.89bn the previous year. TDIC has a sukuk repayable on October 21 and has another US$1bn conventional bond maturing in July.

“We have lined up sufficient capital to handle our $ 2bn in bond maturities and fund the company’s ongoing operations,” the representative said.

TDIC said it has been finalising “two separate financial arrangements” ahead of the bond maturing dates this year “aiming to have all documents in execution form in order to comfortably close before the maturity dates of the $1bn sukuk”. But it has not signed any new financing this year. It could sell one of its assets, which include a five-star hotel, residential apartments, villas and a retail district.

During the year, TDIC transferred the Al Sahel and Al Yamm lodges on Sir Baniyas Island, with a book value of Dh302.8m, to its parent company TCA Abu Dhabi. It also transferred the ownership of the Dh150m military museum land near the heritage Maqta Fort to Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Last year, it pledged the Eastern Mangroves Marina building, with a book value of Dh242m, to Union National Bank against a loan of Dh91.6m.

In 2012, TDIC transferred to TCA Abu Dhabi some of its hospitality assets – Qasr Al Sarab hotel, Desert Islands Resort and Spa on Sir Baniyas Island as well as the Manarat Al Saadiyat visitors’ centre and Fanr Restaurant on Saadiyat Island – with a total book value of Dh2.1bn. The aim was to convert loans into government grants.

In March, it announced it would sell a Saadiyat beach plot for Dh300m, on book value of Dh88m. The plot could be used to develop a hotel and branded residential units.

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