The Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of the Beirut Central District S.A.L. (Solidere) released its unaudited consolidated financial statements (which take into account the company’s subsidiaries), reporting a net loss of $22.23 million in the first half of 2021, compared to a profit of $38.07 million in the same period in 2020. In detail, revenues from property and land sales plunged to $39.23 million, rental revenues fell to $10.29 million, gains on the sale of investment properties contracted to $1.21 million, while revenues from provided services rose by 8.09% to $4.12 million. In parallel, cost of revenues dropped by just above 76% y-o-y to $37.31 million as at end of June 2021, thanks to some $120.23 million reduction in the cost of land sales. Consequently, the company’s net operating profit decreased by 81.03% on an annual basis to $17.54 million, while general & administrative expenses increased by 22.66% to $16.67 million. Solidere did not constitute provisions for impairment in the first half of 2021 while it booked provisions of around $17.61 million in the same period a year earlier. The company registered a loss of $0.71 million from its participation in affiliated entities under the equity method, compared to a $7.55 million loss in the first half of 2020.

On the balance sheet front, the Group’s consolidated assets narrowed by 2.78% in the first half of 2021 to just below $2.00 billion as accounts and notes receivable sank by 57.96% to $23.25 million and land inventory & projects under construction receded by 1.67% to around $872.20 million (circa 43.96% of total assets). Investment properties, on the other hand, inched slightly upwards to $573.02 million. On the other hand, the Group’s total liabilities fell by 0.70% in the first half of 2021 to $241.51 million, noting that the company honored all its bank credit facilities in the year 2020. The Group’s shareholders’ equity ended the first half of 2021 down by 3.06% at $1.74 billion, implying a book value per share of $10.56 and thus a price to book value multiples of 2.96 for Solidere “A” shares and 2.95 for Solidere “B” shares based on the closing prices of March 17, 2022.