Written by Nayla Barakat
Manama, March 14 (BNA): With the new terminals at Bahrain International Airport operating at full capacity and an increase in tourist arrivals, the Bahrain Duty Free Complex (BDFS) is optimistic about good business this year.
Farouk Al Moayyed, Chairman of BDFS, said he is optimistic about positive business in 2022 and beyond.
Al-Moayad, who chaired the annual General Assembly of Bahrain Duty Free on Monday, told the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) that the new airport and the busy schedule of Gulf Air will positively affect free business this year.
Sociology has reported a net profit of BD2.1 million in 2021, which is an increase of 6% compared to last year.
Earnings per share amounted to 15 fils compared to 14 fils for the year 2020. At the end of December, the total assets amounted to 47.6 million BD while the total shareholders’ equity amounted to 47.5 million BD.
The General Assembly approved the distribution of BD 4.3 million to shareholders by March 31, 2022. The meeting, which was attended by the free market shareholders, approved the company’s financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2021.
I am also pleased to announce that Bahrain Duty Free has achieved positive financial results as it achieved a net income of 2.1 million Bahraini Dinars. 2021 was a challenging year due to the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the company’s performance.
In January 2021, the new joint venture Bahrain Duty Free Company commenced duty free operations upon the opening of the new airport terminal, thus ending Bahrain Duty Free’s direct involvement in the duty-free business after thirty years. Bahrain Duty Free is a shareholder in the new company with 55% of the shares and is entitled to a share in the profits of the new joint venture.
For the full year of 2021, the company reported total revenue of BD806,000 representing a decrease of 94.8% over last year. Similarly, the total realized profits amounted to 488 thousand BD, down 91.2% from the previous year.
Total administrative and selling expenses amounted to 848,000 BD, which gives a positive difference of 85.5% compared to last year. Within this, equity and salaries represent the largest savings in expenses. Other income recorded BD 398,000, a decrease of 60.0% over the previous year. Operating results for the year amounted to BD38 thousand compared to BD689,000, a decrease of 94.5% YoY.
“The aforementioned changes in performance are due to the transfer of ‘duty-free operations’ to the new joint venture ‘Bahrain Duty Free Company’ which began operations in 2021,” the company’s statement said.
The net investment income from all related activities for the year amounted to BD 2.1 million, an increase of BD 1.2 million or 144.8% over the previous year.
The main driver of this growth was income from our new joint venture, Bahrain Duty Free. Other investment income for the year decreased by BD440,000. This decrease is mainly due to a decrease in dividend income by BD 102 thousand. This reduction is due to many companies reducing their dividend payments due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund’s portfolio also witnessed a decrease in income of BD117,000 and unrealized loss of BD135,000.
Share of profits of equity-accounted companies saw increased profits during the year as a result of share of profits from the new joint venture Bahrain Duty Free. The realized profits amounted to BD 1.6 million, compared to BD 217 thousand in 2020. The impairment provisions of BD 358,000 were calculated during 2021 and down from last year’s figure of BD 614 thousand, which is a positive difference of BD 256 thousand.
The investment portfolio now stands at BD45.1 million, an increase of BD2.6 million (5.4%) compared to BD42.8 million last year. The main movements in the portfolio for 2021 were income from associates of BD 1.5 million and fair value increase of BD 1.4 million.