Real estate firm Egyptian Resorts slipped to a net loss of LE 2.9 million ($517,600) in the first quarter of 2010 after failing to sell any land, its main source of income. But analysts said the company, which has sold land for as much as $200 per square meter, could swing back to profitability thanks to new management and a partnership to develop land with Orascom Development Holding (ODH). "The joint partnership with Orascom has not yet been reflected in the first quarter results, and neither have positive management changes," Mohamed Ashour of Naeem Brokerage said. However he said investors still need to see a pick-up in sales after a deal to sell a 44,354 square meter plot to a Saudi Arabian investor announced in January did not go through. Mohamed Kamel, the company's new chief executive, in April told Reuters the company had enough cash and receivables to weather three to four years without selling land. Shares in Egyptian Resorts shot up more than 30 percent between April 8 and April 29 after Rowad Tourism said it sold a roughly 5 percent stake in the firm, sparking speculation that Orascom was the buyer. Swiss-based Orascom said on April 29 it would jointly develop 2.5 million square meters (618 acres) of Egyptian Resorts property on the Red Sea and had bought a 4.5 percent stake in the group. Orascom will share revenue and profit under the agreement, but full details of the deal have not been specified. The firm reported a profit for the first quarter of 2009 of LE 9.3 million.
