Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) sold out 776 properties during the first nine months of 2020, bringing gross contractual sales to EGP 4.1 bn and marking a YoY rise of 23% from EGP 3.34 bn in the prior-year period, Invest-Gate reports.

Residential sales amounted to EGP 3.96 bn for the period ending September 30, up 62% from the EGP 2.45 bn recorded during the same period in 2019, according to SODIC’s press release on November 12.

“The positive momentum was maintained as the company entered the fourth quarter, with some EGP 933 mn of gross contracted sales recorded during October 2020, bringing the 10 months total to over EGP 5 bn,” read the statement.

“SODIC delivered some 786 units during the period of which 507 units were in East Cairo projects, namely Eastown Residences and Villette. This compares to 752 units delivered during the same period in 2019,” it further stated.

The Egypt-based developer’s west Cairo projects accounted for 60% of total gross contractual sales during this period, driven by the strong performance on fourth-generation developments. “VYE,” for instance, contributed to 37% of sales, compared with 10% from “The Estates.”

East Cairo, on the other hand, made up 39% of the nine-month period’s contractual sales, with the “Villette” and “SODIC East” compounds generating 24% and 10% of total gross sales, separately, the statement added.

“Cancellations of EGP 799 mn were recorded during the first nine months of the year, representing 20% of the period’s gross contracted sales. Cancellations were negatively affected during the first quarter due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Egypt, and in September due to the cancellation of a bulk sale transaction,” SODIC affirmed.

In its statement, SODIC pointed out that cancellations continue to trend downwards, posting 7% of gross contractual sales for last October.

Moreover, revenues of EGP 3.15 bn were registered during the first nine months of 2020, 7% lower than EGP 3.41 bn logged a year ago. This was mainly driven by East Cairo projects (i.e. Eastown Residences and Villette), amounting to 42% and 23% of the period’s delivered value, respectively. West Cairo developments, meanwhile, contributed a further 28%.

In early November, SODIC has announced that its shareholders had approved increasing the issued and paid-up capital to EGP 1.424 bn from EGP 1.396 bn. The capital raise will be allocated for the fourth and fifth tranches of the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), as highlighted in an earlier bourse filing.