Cenomi Centers to open several projects soon, sell land in Qassim: CEO

Alison Rehill Erguven, CEO of Cenomi Centers

Arabian Centres Co. (Cenomi Centres) will continue its growth strategy and open several projects soon, CEO Alison Rehill Erguven told Argaam in an exclusive interview.

Growth in revenue, control of operating costs and fair value gains were the main drivers for the Q2 2023 profits.

The fair value is assessed by two independent entities that valuate every asset on a quarterly basis, and this might change the fair value.

Operating profit leapt by 50% year-on-year (YoY), driven mainly by selling part of Jawharat Riyadh land in Q2, the CEO noted.

The company's projects include U Walk, which features an internal shopping area and several restaurants, and will be opened next December. The pre-lease commitment rate in this project reached more than 80%. This is in addition to Qassim Mall, which was more than 50% completed, and will likely be launched in H2 2024.

The completion rates in Jawharat Riyadh and Jawharat Jeddah reached nearly 30% and over 20%, respectively, the top executive said, noting that both projects have significant lease rates and will be opened in 2025.

Rental revenue grew 7.8% year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of 2023 on higher occupancy rates.

Cenomi Centers carefully chooses the tenant mix and focuses on providing food, beverages, entertainment, and more services needed by consumers, which mainly increases malls visitors.

Touching on the program of selling non-core assets, Erguven said the company completed the first two deals as it sold a land plot on King Fahd Road, Olaya district, Riyadh, in addition to selling land plots in Al-Raed district, achieving a total of SAR 875 million.

She expected a land plot spanning one million square meters (sqm) would be sold in Qassim this month, in addition to selling other non-strategic assets by the end of this year.

As for the Mall of Dhahran, the CEO said the land is leased and the company owns the building, indicating that the division in which the fire broke out in May 2022 is subject to negotiations with the insurance company. She stressed that the mall has active lease contracts and a great reputation in the region and will not be closed.

Commenting on hiring Al Rajhi Capital as a market maker, Erguven said this will contribute to boosting the stock and attracting more investors, adding that the company has a very strategic view in this regard.

In addition, the firm is working on strong strategic plans whose results started to appear, the CEO said, indicating that the company will continue to focus on such plans to achieve similar results in the future.

Cenomi Centers reported a net profit of SAR 722 million, after minority interest, compared to SAR 356.3 million in the year-earlier period. The second-quarter bottom line surged 87% to SAR 338.7 million, Argaam reported.