Malta Properties Company p.l.c.’s. (MPC) performance during 2018 was reviewed during the Company’s fourth Annual General Meeting held on 11 June in the afternoon. During 2018, MPC’s profit before tax doubled to €12.78 million from €6.13 million in 2017. Over the same period, MPC grew its net asset value by 26 per cent to 51 cents per share. For the first time since MPC was listed, the meeting also approved a dividend of €0.01 per share.

Addressing the meeting, MPC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Deepak Padmanabhan, said, “The increase in profit before tax is impressive and represents another executed milestone of our long-term strategy. As a result of this performance and continued healthy cash flow generation, for the first time we have proposed a dividend. This is indeed an important milestone in any listed company’s history and more so in our case as the company also builds reserves to be able to pursue growth.” Mr Padmanabhan gave a progress update on various key projects. The completed redevelopment of its site at Floriana has now been fully leased while significant progress has also been registered at the site in Zejtun. Planning for the redevelopment of MPC’s site in Marsa is also well underway.

The meeting was also addressed by MPC’s Chief Financial Officer, Ms Daniela Zammit, who gave a detailed review of the Group’s financial performance for 2018. Ms Zammit went through the key highlights which led to MPC’s positive results, including the level of rental income reached, the decrease in administrative expenses and the sale of properties at a price higher than their book value. She also mentioned that the Group has retained its strong financial position with a low gearing ratio and an adequate interest cover, while giving a very good return on equity when benchmarked against the best performing local companies.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for MPC’s senior management to update shareholders on the negotiations, which MPC is undertaking with Dubai Holding for the acquisition of a majority shareholding in SmartCity (Malta). Describing this opportunity as potentially “game changing”, Mr Padmanabhan informed shareholders that, “progress on this deal continues to be made with the due diligence completed and negotiations on the final transaction ongoing.”