MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013
BUSINESS
Nissan’s legendary Takumi: Four master craftsmen who hand-build every Nissan GT-R engine DUBAI: In Japan, the term takumi is used to describe a master craftsman who has perfected his skills over years of painstaking work and dedication. It is reserved for those who are at the very top of their profession. At Nissan’s expansive engine factory in Yokohama, four men have been designated as takumi. They are the sole assemblers of the engines that power one of the most heralded sports cars in automotive history. The four takumi of Nissan’s Yokohama plant are Takumi Kurosawa, Tsunemi Ooyama, Izumi Shioya and Nobumitsu Gozu. Collectively, they share over 100 years of exceptional work in their chosen field. These engine craftsmen are responsible for hand-building every awe-inspiring 545-horse-
Gulf Insurance launches new websites KUWAIT: Gulf Insurance Co, the leading insurance provider in Kuwait and the Middle East, launched it new website (www.gulfins.com.kw) and it’s Group website (www.gulfinsgroup.com) with new layouts and concepts that cater for the needs of online visitors and customers of both websites. The freshly designed websites provide easy use and enjoyable browsing experience. Khalid Al-Sanousi, GIC’s Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department Manager said, “The websites are designed in accordance with the latest technological standards. New and pioneering services are offered by the company to its customers through this platform. The web pages have been arranged in an easy and friendly manner to access information as needed.” To enable users to buy particular insurance policies at any given time or location, www.clickgic.com was also re-launched and is dedicated for electronic insurance policies sales. Moreover, the newly Khalid Al-Sanousi designed website will enable customers to issue documents electronically and on the spot without prior reference to GIC. The websites were designed in collaboration with National Electronic Websites Company (Mawaqaa), a leading comprehensive websites solutions provider. Gulf Insurance Company is the largest insurance company in Kuwait in terms of written and retained premiums, with operations in both life and non-life insurance. Gulf Insurance has become one of the largest insurance networks in the Middle East and North Africa, with companies in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Bahrain, Emirates and Kuwait. Its reported consolidated assets stand at $1.04 billion as at 30th June, 2012. KIPCO - Kuwait Projects Company - is Gulf Insurance’s largest shareholder, followed by the Canadian-based Fairfax Financial Holding Ltd. Gulf Insurance holds a Financial Strength Rating of “A”with Stable Outlook from Standard & Poor’s. A.M. Best Europe - Rating Services Limited has also assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “A-” to Gulf Insurance with a Stable Outlook.
power twin-turbocharged V-6 engines found beneath the hood of the Nissan GT-R, production vehicles and the racecars alike. Each engine is assembled with care and precision by one of these four individuals. Once an engine is completed, the takumi craftsman proudly mounts a plaque bearing his name upon the completed masterpiece, serving as a timeless reminder of the high level of craftsmanship and expertise that went into each work. Many Nissan GT-R owners have visited the Yokohama plant and to meet the takumi enginebuilder who hand-assembled their Nissan GT-R’s engine. Even popular American late-night television talk show host and car collector/aficionado
Jay Leno has made the trip to the plant to meet the takumi. Nissan’s Yokohama plant is a model of both technology and efficiency within the industry. In its nearly eight decades in existence, it has produced more than 35 million engines, including the exceptionally-capable VR38 that powers the legendary Nissan GT-R high performance sports car. “Yokohama is the plant where our company was established, and we’re proud to make Nissan’s flagship engine here. It represents the pinnacle of the Nissan brand,” said Nobuhiro Ozawa, Yokohama plant manager. “We adhere the nameplates of the takumi who hand-built these engines and put their souls into each one with a
sense of responsibility.” In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 by the US Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the Americas media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.
Standalone net profit of EGP 3.5m, 1.7% rise in aggregate revenues Citadel Capital reports Q2 2013 results CAIRO: Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Exchange), the leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East with $9.5 billion in investments under control, reported yesterday its financial results for the second quarter of 2013, highlights of which include a standalone net profit of EGP 3.5 million and a 61.9 percent narrowing year-on-year of its consolidated net loss to EGP 47.3 million. Citadel Capital’s Business Review focuses primarily on the performance of its eight operational platforms in the core industries of energy, transportation, agrifoods, mining and cement, which together reported 2Q13 aggregate revenues of EGP 1.5 billion, up 1.7 percent from the same quarter last year. The energy, transportation, agrifoods and mining sectors all reported growth in aggregate sector revenues. Meanwhile, aggregate EBITDA across operational core platforms rose 12.9 percent in the same period to EGP 119.9 million. Notable drivers of aggregate EBITDA growth included ASCOM (mining), Africa Railways (transportation) and Gozour (agrifoods). “We are broadly speaking pleased with our second quarter results, where rising aggregate revenues and EBITDA figures for our core operational platform companies underscores the clear logic of our transformation into an investment company,” said Citadel Capital Founder and Chairman Ahmed Heikal. “We look forward to shareholder approval to launch our EGP 3.64 billion share issuance, which will further drive the transformation - and which we expect to close as scheduled in late December 2013 or early January 2014.” For 2Q13, Citadel Capital reported a standalone net profit of EGP 3.5 million on revenues of EGP 21.1 million, compared with a net loss of EGP 9.2 million in the same quarter last year, marking the second consecutive quarter of profitability for the firm on a standalone basis, driven by steady advisory fees, lack of non-recurring OPEX, and net financing and forex gains. On a consolidated basis, the firm reports a net loss of EGP 47.3 million in 2Q13, a narrowing of 61.9 percent year-on-year. As consolidated results do not present a complete picture of the performance of core platform companies that will remain part of Citadel Capital’s investments following the winding down of a three-plus year divestment program for non-core assets, Management has presented aggregate revenue and EBITDA figures for the firm’s eight core operational platform companies since its FY12 Business Review. These aggregate figures give a more accurate picture of financial and opera-
tional performance than do consolidated results, which will become better indicators of the firm’s performance as the transformation process moves forward. Highlights of the performance of the firm’s investments in each of the five core industries follow.
the lowering of EBITDA losses at Wafra. The segment saw a 6.9 percent rise in aggregate revenues in 1H13 to EGP 649.1 million compared to EGP 607.4 million in 1H12, while EBITDA climbed 97.3 percent year-on-year to EGP 63.6 million on the same factors supporting the 2Q results.
Energy The Energy division saw revenues increase by 8.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to EGP 332.1 million, while EBITDA increased by 6.6 percent to EGP 27.9 million, on the back of better performance in the quarter at both TAQA Arabia and Tawazon. In the first half, revenue was essentially flat at EGP 623.6 million compared to EGP 626.5 million in the same period of 2012, while EBITDA declined 33.1 percent year-on-year in the half, as falling power generation and distribution volumes and margins in 1Q13 were only somewhat offset by gains in the second quarter. Notably, segment EBITDA grew by 49 percent in 2Q13 over 1Q13.
Mining In the second quarter, the Mining division’s platform company ASCOM reported a 6.6 percent year-on-year increase in revenues to EGP 141.6 million and a very positive EBITDA swing from negative EGP 6.1 million in 2Q12 to positive EGP 4.9 million in 2Q13, bolstered by significant improvements at newly operational ACCM and Egyptian quarrying operations (via ASCOM standalone). In the first half, ASCOM reported a modest 1.7 percent y-o-y increase in revenues to EGP 273.4 million, while the successes of 2Q13 led to a 71.8 percent upswing in EBITDA to EGP 10.7 million, compared to EGP 6.2 million in 1H12.
Transportation The Transportation division posted aggregate revenues in 2Q13 of EGP 132.2 million, a 12.6 percent increase over EGP 117.4 million in 2Q12. EBITDA, while still in the red, saw a 71.5 percent improvement year-on-year in 2Q13 to negative EGP 9.3 million, primarily driven by the better performance of Africa Railways portfolio company and turnaround play Rift Valley Railways (RVR). RVR recorded in 2Q13 its first profitable month on the EBITDA level, leading EBITDA losses to contract to less than $ 0.1 million in 2Q13 from US$ 3.8 million the previous quarter. Nile Logistics, although recording a quarter-on-quarter improvement to negative EGP 9.2 million in 2Q13, continues to account for the majority of the Transportation segment’s EBITDA losses, as delays in the lifting of diesel subsidies - the macro theme backing this investment - offset the positive impact of Nile Barges (South Sudan).
Cement Aggregate sector revenues were down 7.9 percent yearon-year in 2Q13 to EGP 533.7 million compared to EGP 579.3 million in 2Q12 as a 16.0 percent drop in revenues from Construction activities offset a 2.5 percent increase from the Cement division. EBITDA was down 37.6 percent over the same period at EGP 61.0 million, affected by the overhaul and temporary halt of production at Zahana cement in Algeria. That said, the division tripled EBITDA quarter-on-quarter, reporting EGP 61.0 million compared to EGP 18.3 million in 1Q13, thanks largely to improvements at the Cement division’s Al-Takamol Cement Plant and a turnaround at the Construction division’s ARESCO. In the first half, aggregate revenues for the sector were down 3.8 percent y-o-y at EGP 1.1 billion on lower revenues from both the Cement and Construction divisions, while EBITDA decreased 22.8 percent to EGP 80.1 million.
Agrifoods The Agrifoods division reported a 6.5 percent y-o-y improvement in revenues in 2Q13 to EGP 324.3 million, as platforms Gozour (Egypt) and Wafra (newly operational greenfield in Sudan and South Sudan) both reported improved revenues. Meanwhile EBITDA surged by 68.3 percent y-o-y to EGP 35.4 million, primarily on strong performance by Gozour, and
Principal investments Citadel Capital principal investments from its own balance sheet remain largely unchanged at US$ 1,132.1 million. Full financial statements and management’s analysis of the performance of operational core platform companies as well as the firm’s standalone and consolidated financial results are available for download at ir.citadelcapital.com.
DUBAI: The winners of the 2013 Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets celebrated their achievements last night at the JW Marriot Hotel Dubai.
Msheireb, Downtown Doha, Qatar won the Best Sustainability (Future) award.
Cityscape Awards to honor World’s premier properties Recognition for emerging market firms DUBAI: The Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets have recognized the 2013 pioneering global real estate developments in a glamorous ceremony and cocktail reception at the world’s tallest hotel last night. Selected among 27 shortlisted projects from 11 countries, the 12 winners of the prestigious event were celebrated at the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel Dubai, in a prestigious event that hosted hundreds of industry professionals and VIPs. Reflecting the true international nature of the Awards and the submissions received, the winners came from all corners of the globe including the One AIA Financial Center in China, which won the Best Commercial &
Mixed (Built) Development; Quasar Istanbul for Best Commercial & Mixed (Future) Development; Hotel Indigo in Hong Kong for Best Leisure & Tourism (Built) project; and Ahyaa Amman Boutique Hotel in Jordan for Best Leisure & Tourism (Future). GCC winners on the night included the Tourism Development & Investment Company ( TDIC) for the Louvre, Abu Dhabi for Best Community & Culture (Future) development, while both sustainability awards were snapped up by regional projects - Siemens Middle East Headquarters in Masdar, Abu Dhabi won Best Sustainability (Built) project and Msheireb, Downtown Doha in Qatar won Best Sustainability (Future) project.
Other winners included the National Institute of Fashion Design in India for Best Community and Culture Project (Built); Qatar Foundation’s Male & Female Student Housing for Best Residential Project (Built); Windchants for Best Residential Project (Future); Akbati Shopping Mall for Best Retail Project (Built); and Hang Lung Properties’Olympia 66 for Best Retail Project (Future). Sponsored by Axor by Hansgrohe and Flash Properties, the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets was a feature of Cityscape Global, which concludes today (10 October) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Wouter Molman, Exhibition Director of
Cityscape Global said: “The Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets this year attracted a total of 283 nominations from across the world, with only the finest 27 chosen to move forward to the final judging day this week. The quality of the nominations this year was incredibly high, and it’s great to see such a diverse range of projects celebrated on a global stage.” Cityscape Global opened on 8 October, and was a hive of activity as leading international, regional, and local real estate developers showcased their latest projects and innovations to thousands of eager investors. With exhibition space growing by 50 per cent for the second year in a row, the three-day event has mirrored the positive sentiment that the
real estate market has seen building up in the last two years. Organised by Informa Exhibitions, the Middle East’s largest real estate event hosted 223 exhibitors from 19 countries this year, with 35 per cent of exhibition space occupied by international property developers. Supported by the Land Department, Cityscape Global is supported by Foundation Sponsors Emaar, Nakheel, and Dubai Properties Group; Strategic Sponsor Barwa; Official Broker, TRISL Real Estate; Silver Sponsors Anantara Residences and Pacific Ventures; Al Arabiyaas Regional Broadcast Partner; and CNN as the International Broadcast Partner.