Arabian Centres CEO expects total discounts for tenants due to COVID-19 to reach SAR 536 mln

Arabian Centres Co. (ACC) is moving forward in the right direction of recovery, following a series of challenges in the previous period with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, CEO Faisal Aljedaie said in a company statement.

Commenting on Q2 2020 results, Aljedaie explained that the second quarter witnessed a doubling of number of visitors to ACC’s commercial centers compared to the previous quarter, in conjunction with the return of Saudis to the affiliated retail centers.

He indicated that despite the decrease in the number of visitors to 17.2 million in Q2 2020 when compared to the same period a year ago, it represents a significant rise on a quarterly basis.

Aljedaie expects the total discounts offered to tenants as a result of this crisis to reach approximately SAR 536 million, pointing out that SAR 131.3 million was recorded during H1 2021, in addition to SAR 20.4 million in Q4 2020.

The residual value is projected to be amortized over the remaining terms of the lease contracts with tenants, he added.

ACC is based on the strength of its financial position and liquidity, the CEO highlighted, stressing that this helps it in distributing payouts, fulfilling all financial obligations, in addition to moving forward with the implementation of its planned investments.

According to data compiled by Argaam, ACC reported a net profit after Zakat and tax of SAR 264.2 million for the six-month period ended Sept. 30, 2020 (H1 2020/21), a 39% decline, compared to SAR 435.1 million in the year-earlier period.