Egypt’s master and real estate developer Egyptian Resorts Company (ERC) recorded net revenues of EGP 126.3 mn in FY 2018, down 55% YoY from EGP 281.1 mn a year earlier, Invest-Gate reports.

“Revenue contraction reflects the company’s decision to halt land sales during 2018 as part of its strategy to expand its business model beyond master development and increasingly focus on residential and commercial real estate development as the primary growth driver going forward,” according to a press release on April 10.

The company posted a net loss of EGP 75.2 mn in 2018, down from a net profit of EGP 69.5 mn during 2017, according to ERC’s consolidated results for 2018.

Factoring out revenue from land sales in FY 2017, the company’s top-line would record an 11% YoY increase in FY 2018, driven entirely by ERC’s real estate and recurring income activities.

ERC’s management has allocated significant resources to help deliver on its objectives, including the build-up of the organizational capacity required to focus on a business-to-consumer (B2C) market as compared to its business-to-business (B2B) activities.

In line with ERC’s efforts, the company inaugurated its first sales showroom in Sahl Hasheesh in the Old Town commercial district and is aggressively building its direct and indirect sales network.

The company has also taken steps in rectifying legacy issues related to its master development business, including reaching settlement agreements with delinquent accounts and collecting past dues as it seeks to clean up its financials in parallel to pressing ahead with its new strategic direction.

The efforts have resulted in non-recurring expenses of EGP 73 mn, consisting of EGP 23 mn in land cancellations related to land purchased in 2015, EGP 13 mn in exchange rate related losses and EGP 37 mn in bad debt provisions on the back of the company’s new credit policy.