Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) said its net profit for the nine months to the end of September 2008 reached SR1.065 billion ($284.4 million), an increase of 11.6 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) announced the company's results.

KHC said net profit for the third quarter to the end of September 2008 reached SR226.5 million, reflecting a minor increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2007.

The hotel operations, for both the company's owned and managed hotel properties, showed a minor decline in operating results due to the slowdown in global tourism and hotel occupancy.

During the quarter, the Company continued to pursue the development of its two real estate projects in Jeddah and Riyadh, with the recent inauguration of the two colossal projects of Kingdom City in Jeddah and Kingdom Tower in Jeddah at the 'Towards the First World' architectural exhibition that was held in Jeddah, under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah on October 11.

The company successfully concluded a financing arrangement and is in the process of negotiating other facilities to take advantage of several opportunities that are available to it.

Shadi Sanbar, KHC's CFO and a member of its Investment Committee said that despite the reduction in the company's Net Asset Value, and the shortage of liquidity from the banking sectors both internationally and domestically, the company's financing remains adequate to support its activites. - TradeArabia News Service