Orascom Development Holding registers first profit since 2010

Orascom Development Holding, the Swiss hotel operator company owned by Samih Sawiris, reported Tuesday that their net profit has registered CHF 31.5m ($34.4m), which is deemed the first biannual net profit since 2010.

In the corresponding period in 2013, the company has recorded CHF 48m ($52.4m) in net loss, blaming the political events and saying that it had affected the group’s operations.

The net profit was attributed to the company’s savings of $21.8m compared to the cost base of 2012 and strong real estate and construction revenues, which compensated for a weaker hotel performance and the deconsolidation of Orascom Housing Communities (OHC).

“The successful carve-out of the budget housing operations and construction segment in Egypt marks an important milestone in further reducing the group’s cost base,” the company said in a Monday statement.

In the first half of 2014, the company’s revenues increased by 2% registering $131.1m compared to $129.2m in the same period in 2013, the statement said, adding that the real estate and construction segment has doubled its revenues.