DXB Entertainments, the theme park operator of Legoland in Dubai, does not plan to cut costs further even as the company secured a Dh1.2 billion instrument from its major shareholder and restructuring its Dh4.2bn debt, its chief financial officer said on Monday.
"From a management perspective, we now are comfortable that we are at a level where the cost base is appropriate to the business," said John Ireland. "If the visitation picks up there is always an incremental component [to cost]."
The Dubai-listed company, in which property developer Meraas holds a 52.3 per cent stake, said on Monday it had agreed with creditors on a three-year moratorium on principal repayments for its Dh4.2bn debt and secured Dh1.2bn from Meraas. An existing Dh700 million facility from Meraas, the majority of which has not been utilised, will be rolled over into the instrument, which is convertible into equity. Mr Ireland said that both debt deals “will bring the business to its targeted [cashflow] breakeven,” without giving a timeline.
DXBE, which began opening its attractions on a staggered basis in 2016, posted a wider-than-forecast loss of Dh1.11bn for 2017, compared with a loss of Dh485m a year earlier. The company began cutting costs last year as its losses widened and reorganised its business along three lines encompassing theme parks, family entertainment centres, and retail and hospitality.
The company's chief executive Mohamed Almulla said the 2017 loss was mainly due to a Dh478m "non-cash depreciation expense" and costs associated with its Dh4.2bn debt. Every year, the company records around Dh500m in depreciation charge for the project, Mr Ireland said.
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“The best measure to judge the business now is Ebitda, which is effectively our profit but excluding depreciation and interest,” said Mr Ireland.
DXBE, which received 2.3 million visitors last year, had initially counted on welcoming 6.7 million in 2017, but failure to achieve those targets has prompted the company to cut ticket prices, reduce costs and focus on the local market to drive growth. Mr Almulla said the target is to have 70 per cent of the business coming from local visitors and the rest from international visitors, with a focus on four source markets: UK, China, Russia and India.
“2017 is very much a ramp up year for us,” said Mr Ireland. “We are waiting for Q1 2018 to understand the trends,” he added, declining to give forecasts for visitor numbers for this year.
But Cairo-based investment bank EFG Hermes had forecast in January that visitor numbers could reach 3.5 million in 2018 and 4.1 million in 2019.
The company expects growth in 2019 with the opening of Legoland Hotel and the Dh2.6bn Six Flags theme park in the fourth quarter of that year.
DXBE is the owner of Dubai Parks and Resorts theme park destination, hotels and a retail and dining facility with an estimated Dh13.2bn in development costs.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
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Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
