Majid Al Futtaim posts 13% rise in H1 revenue

Bloomberg

Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC, the Dubai-based conglomerate which operates Carrefour SA stores in the Middle East, posted a 13 percent increase in revenue during the first half, as the company’s regional expansion helped weather the impact of value-added taxation at home.
Sales climbed to AED17.8 billion ($4.85 billion) from a year earlier despite “adverse market conditions,” Chief Executive Officer Alain Bejjani told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday in Dubai.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation grew 4 percent to AED2.1 billion.
MAF, as the group is known, has steadily extended its presence beyond Dubai to countries including Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. The group is opening 100 new Carrefour supermarkets in Egypt, 600 cinemas in Saudi Arabia and is expanding in Kenya, Bejjani said.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia introduced a 5-percent VAT at the start of 2018 in an attempt to bolster non-oil revenue.
Bejjani said that recent measures taken by UAE authorities gave him reasons to be “optimistic.”
Governments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have responded with measures to stimulate the economy and create jobs, including slashing fees on sales at restaurants and hotels in Dubai. Abu Dhabi authorities said they’ll spend AED50 billion over three years.