Al Arafa for Investment and Consultancies (Arafa Holding) achieved a fourfold increase in consolidated profits during the last fiscal year (FY) which ended in January, reaching $15.205m, compared to $3.084m in the previous year.
However, the company’s revenues declined by 4.9% to $224.997m in the last FY driven by the fall in sales from the Arafa Holding’s UK subsidiary Baird Group. This slight decrease has been attributed to a general decline in sales in the English retail market as it witnessed one of the worst Christmas seasons in decades.
The decline came on the back of the Brexit-related economic fallout and the resulting weakening consumer purchasing power.
The fourth quarter (4Q) of the year (from November 2019 to January 2020) witnessed a noticeable increase in the company’s consolidated sales, recording $65.1m, an increase of 4.4% compared to $62.4m during the comparison period. This has been supported by a noticeable growth in exports, particularly in the US market, and the escalating sales of local retailer, Concrete.
Arafa Holding Chairperson Alaa Arafa said the group’s workflow has been significantly affected by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic and worldwide precautionary measures that have been put in place to limit its spread.
Many EU countries and the US have also imposed a comprehensive lockdown that lead to the interruption of exports from the company to its European and US markets.
Arafa told Daily News Egypt that the retail sector in Egypt and the UK have been affected by the government-led precautionary measures. This has included a complete closure of shops in the UK and a partial closure of many shops alongside reduced working hours in Egypt.
He expected that the company’s business results will be negatively affected in FY 2020, with no clear vision as yet in place for future business plan.
