Earnings watch: CIRA reports FY2018 results in maiden earnings post-IPO
EARNINGS WATCH- Cairo for Real Estate and Investment (CIRA) reported a 95% y-o-y increase in net profit to EGP 126.4 mn in its 2018 fiscal year, which ended 31 August, according to the company’s maiden earnings release (pdf). Revenues rose 48% y-o-y during, coming in at EGP 517.5 mn, with growth being driven by higher enrollment rates in its K-12 schools and Badr University, the company said. CIRA also “made progress in strengthening our financial position through the repayment of outstanding long-term loan amounts and by simplifying our group’s legal structure.” 2018 was a “transformational year that served as a launchpad for CIRA’s ambitious growth strategy and culminated into a successful IPO” of the company on the EGX in October, said CEO Mahmoud El Kalla.
Looking ahead: CIRA is looking to both “organic and inorganic growth avenues that will see it deploy approximately EGP 1.1 bn over the coming three to five years across projects in primary education, tertiary education, and healthcare,” El Kalla said. The company plans to deploy part of the proceeds from its successful IPO to finance growth and will also rely on “bank financing, internally generated cash as well as proceeds from the disposal of non-core assets.”