Profits at the Qatari property company Barwa more than doubled in the first quarter, shortly before its chief executive was replaced.
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Back to business
Revenue from rent and the sale of properties drove net profits to 548 million Qatari rials (Dh553m) for the quarter compared with 210m for the same period last year, the company said. Earnings per share rose to 1.41 rials from 0.80 rials a year earlier.
Total revenue for the quarter increased to 1.3 billion rials, up from 665m rials in the first quarter last year.
The report concludes an eventful period for the property and investment company, which is 45 per cent owned by Qatari Diar, the investment arm of the Qatar government.
In the first week of last month about 90 of the company's 600 employees were laid off, just two weeks after Mohammed Asad al Emadi was named as the group chief executive.
This triggered threats of resignation from several top executives, according to local press coverage. A few days later the company confirmed an "emergency co-ordination" meeting between company chairman Hitmi bin Ali al Hitmi and Mr al Emadi.
On April 17, Mr al Emadi was replaced by Abdulla bin Abdulaziz Turki al Subai'i, amid reports some of the jobs may be reinstated.
Barwa did not provide details on the sources of increased revenue for the quarter, except to cite "increased revenues from rents and services and profit on sale of properties and projects and sale of a Barwa stake in a subsidiary".
Profits were also aided by "re-appraising Barwa real estate investments", as well as increased activity from Barwa Bank. The company also confirmed it was expecting to launch the Barwa al Sadd development and the first phase of the Barwa Commercial Avenue by the end of the year.
Barwa al Sadd consists of three office towers ranging from 18 to 21 storeys in Doha. Barwa Commercial Avenue, which was originally scheduled to open next year, will eventually cover 8km and include 600 shops, 150,000 square metres of office space and 800 residential units.
The two developments will "increase rent revenues and foster the group's cash flows" by the end of the year, the company said.
kbrass@thenational.ae
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
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