The future is starting to look brighter for Kuwait's IFA Hotels and Resorts (IFAHR), but the company's earnings continue to reflect the struggles of the recent past. IFAHR reported a loss yesterday of 19.5 million Kuwaiti dinars for the financial year that ended on June 30, down from a profit of 30.8m dinars last year.
The developer earlier this year said it had signed up its first retailers, including Waitrose and Pinkberry, for its Golden Mile retail project on the Palm Jumeirah, which will open next June. It also said more than 700 of the 860 residential apartments had been handed over to buyers.
"Despite tough economic conditions, this year has been our busiest year yet in terms of moving projects from construction to completion," said Ibrahim al Therban, the chairman of IFAHR. The company said more than 70 per cent of its projects on the Palm Jumeirah and in South Africa were completed. "With 2011 poised to be equally busy, we expect to see these results steadily improve in the coming year," Mr al Therban said.
Along with other resort developers affected by the global financial crisis, IFAHR delayed several announced projects, including the Fairmont Palm Jumeirah Hotel, which was originally scheduled to be open last year. It is now on schedule to be finished next year, the company said yesterday. Its most significant opening this year was the Fairmont Zimbali in South Africa, which opened in time for the FIFA World Cup. The company said it would expand in South Africa because it was "an almost unending source of development and investment opportunities".
The company also completed the Four Seasons Beirut, its first project in a partnership with Kingdom Hotels. It also expects to hand over units in a luxury residential development in Beirut soon. The company's total assets increased by 10 per cent to 400.8m dinars compared with the previous financial year. breagan@thenational.ae
