Qalaa Holdings reports over EGP 1.0 bn loss in FY2015: Qalaa Holding reported an EGP 1,155.4 mn loss after minority interest in FY2015 compared to EGP 855.6 mn the previous year due to non-cash charges worth EGP 1.08 bn in the year ending 31 December, according its earnings release (pdf). Meanwhile, the company reported a 27% y-o-y increase in revenues to EGP 8,214.6 mn in FY2015. The company pushed forward with its divestment plan, generating total proceeds from the exit of eight assets during 2015 of c EGP 2,400.0 mn, up from about EGP 900.0 mn last year. Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal noted that ERC, the company’s USD 3.7 bn petroleum refinery, will begin production in 2017. Added Co-Founder and MD Hisham El-Khazindar: “Against this backdrop, management views total provisions and write-downs booked during the final quarter of the year as a prudent clean-up. With minor delays in our divestment program having hindered our return to profitability in FY2015, we opted to book these impairments now and head into 2016 having nearly finalized the restructuring of our financial statements. We believe it was essential to take these charges prior to the start of production at ERC and as TAQA Arabia pursues significant new contracts that we expect will allow it to sustainably contribute to our top-line growth and bottom-line profitability going forward.”