Kuwait-based Gulf Holding Company (GHC), which is developing the $650 million Villamar @ the Harbour in Bahrain, has announced a net profit of 5.78 million Kuwaiti dinars ($21.61 million) for the year 2007-08.

Earnings per share reached 7.51 fils, total shareholders' equity was 96.10 million dinars and total value of assets was 185.00 million dinars.

The board has proposed the company's maiden dividend of 10 per cent as bonus shares.

'Despite the worldwide turmoil in the financial markets, 2008 was a noteworthy year for GHC and we are pleased with the growth in the annual revenue the company has achieved over the past three years,' said GHC chairman Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi.

'This sterling accomplishment is evidence of our sound corporate values and the strong foundation on which the company is built, with our management team exhibiting a remarkably innovative approach to risk management during these turbulent times.

'The year gone by has witnessed the implementation of some of our most ambitious plans, including the highly successful listing of our subsidiary Villamar Sukuk Company's $190 million sukuk bond issue on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.'

'Another significant initiative was our foray into the fast-growing North African market through our acquisition of the 400,000-square-metre touristic zone of the Royal Resort Cap Malabata project in Morocco.'

'GHC is well-attuned and responsive to the business dynamics of the market as well as investment needs of its discerning clients,' said chief executive officer Ahmed Al Ameer.-TradeArabia News Service