Dubai: Dubai’s Tecom group, landlord behind some of the city’s leading free zones, saw a sharp 28 per cent jump in 2022 net profit to Dh725.6 million. This was on revenues of Dh1.97 billion, which is up 12 per cent - and also the highest ever in 22 years.
The Board of Directors is recommending a Dh200 million payout in April. “As per our declared dividend policy, we distributed Dh200 million in cash dividends in November 2022,” said Malek Al Malek, Chairman. “Following our exceptional FY2022 performance, the Board of Directors has recommended an interim dividend payment of Dh200, which will bring the total dividend to Dh400 million for the second-half of 2022.
We remain committed to distributing a total dividend of Dh800 million per annum in our first three years of being a listed company…
"Tecom Group’s high-quality customer base saw many new high-profile organisations join one of its specialised business parks as well as existing customers taking additional space to expand operations," it said in a statement.
Higher occupancy wins
What will please Tecom – and its shareholders – is the 86 per cent occupancy for commercial and industrial locations at the end of December last, against 78 per cent a year ago. There had been investor concerns that the job losses at US Big tech entities will ripple through at some level to their Gulf and Middle East operations.
“The strong growth in our occupancy rates in 2022 indicates a sharp return in demand for quality commercial and industrial real estate assets in Dubai and reflects the attractiveness of Tecom Group’s specialist real estate offerings,” said Abdulla Belhoul, CEO.
I am encouraged by the progress we have made this past year, particularly in increasing the value of our investment property portfolio by nearly 10 per cent, as well as increasing and enhancing our high-quality customer base to reach more than 9,500 including companies and freelancers which represents a 22 per cent yoy growth.
