Madinet Nasr Housing and Development (MNHD), a leading urban developer in Egypt, achieved a significant increase of consolidated net profit year-over-year (y-o-y) by 165% to reach EGP 274.5m in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018, up from EGP 103.5m in Q2 2017, the company announced on Saturday. MNHD's revenues witnessed a 61.2% increase y-o-y to surpass the EGP 500m-mark to EGP 656.2m in the same period, while the company's pre-sales recorded a twofold increase to reach EGP 1.4bn, up from EGP 757.6m in the prior year, representing 602 sold units. It is worth noting that the company's year-to-date presales posted EGP 2.55bn in the first half (H1) of 2018. The urban developer continues to push forward with the launch of new phases at its Taj City development, following the success of its third phase, Shayla, in November 2017. Taj City's amended master plan, which was approved in January 2018, will see the development boast an integrated urban community that enjoys vast green spaces within the heart of the city, offering both the conveniences of city life and the comforts of suburban living. "MNHD has consistently demonstrated its ability to deliver solid y-o-y gains regardless of industry's volatility and uncertainties across the wider macro environment," said MNHD CEO Ahmed El Hitamy. He added that the strong top-line growth achieved was backed by MNHD's benchmark unit offerings in line with consumer demand across a broad income spectrum, especially, targeting the country's growing middle class. "Moreover, improved operational efficiency and prudent cost management have seen our net profit margin expand 16 percentage points to over 42%," El Hitamy explained. During Q2 2018, MNHD launched and presold a variety of property types in the Shalya Taj City project, in addition to Lake Park Studios in Q1 2018, which produced some spillover into the second quarter. Furthermore, the company launched two developments within its 5.5m sqm SARAI project, which is located in New Cairo in close proximity to the New Administrative Capital; the launches generated presales of EGP 620.6m.
