EGYGAB Developments has revealed it has signed a purchase contract for an east Cairo plot of land over 83,000 sqm in area from Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (MNHD). EGYGAB intends to launch a new residential project on the land, which is set to sell at a price of EGP 10,000/sqm. The project, which will see investments of over EGP 2bn, will be compromised of about 1,600 residential units with areas ranging between 70 to 170 sqm inside the Taj City project. It is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021 and before the end of the year. The many advantages of the MNHD-owned Taj City project are the first motivation for EGYGAB buying real estate development in this area. It is also in close proximity to the up-market Cairo suburbs of Heliopolis, Nasr City, and New Cairo, as well as the New Administrative Capital (NAC). With its added location in front of the Cairo International Airport, the project supports the company's vision. MNHD announced, on Sunday, its business results for 2020, revealing that it saw net profit of EGP 1.1bn. This reflected a net profit margin of 32%, and a growth rate of 2% compared to 2019. It also reported consolidated revenues of EGP 3.1bn. Presales grew by 11% year-on-year (y-o-y) from EGP 6.3bn in fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, to record EGP 7bn in FY 2019/20. Growth in presales for the year was largely driven by increased demand on Taj City and Sarai developments. The total number of units sold in Taj City and Sarai in 2020 was 1,548 units, compared to the 1,301 units sold in 2019, reflecting an increase of 19%. Total built-up area (BUA) of units sold in Taj city and Sarai in 2020 stood at 258,000 sqm, compared to 212,000 sqm sold in 2019, an increase of 22%. In addition to this, the company saw the sale of 198,000 sqm of mix-use land in Taj City. MNHD sold and delivered 440 units in its Nasr Gardens project, located in the 6th of October City. The company invested EGP 3.5bn in construction and infrastructure works in 2020, an 102% increase from 2019's EGP 1.7bn, paving the way to continue delivery of around 4,000 units in SARAI and Taj City. "While 2020 was a challenging year for the economy in general, and the real estate market in particular, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated precautionary measures, MNHD continued delivery of outstanding operational performance and financial results backed by strong capabilities of land bank, managerial, financial, and human resources," according to MNHD CEO Ahmed El Hitamy, "[This] enabled MNHD to adopt flexible strategies to efficiently response to market developments, through promotional cash sale programmes, and sale of land to other real estate developers offering products different from MNHD's." El Hitamy noted that the company plans for a 4% stock dividend, and will continue work on converting its profits in a short time into dividends to shareholders. This will enable them to monetise the return on their investment in MNHD.
