Marka, a leading retail operator in the UAE, has reported revenues of Dh291.174 million ($79.2 million) for 2016, marking an increase of over 35 per cent from 2015 revenue figures.

Despite the strong increase in total revenues, Marka announced a net operating loss of Dh24.364 million on an adjusted basis for 2016.

Khaled Al Mheiri, vice chairman and CEO of Marka said: “Despite the ongoing difficult market conditions, our optimism in the GCC retail market remains strong and although we incurred losses in the past year, we also took strategic steps to re-evaluate all our operating divisions and our portfolio of brands. We will continue to focus on replacing elements of our business that may be underperforming with home-grown concepts and brands that give us higher margins and unique positioning in today’s market.”

Marka’s Board of Directors have decided to continue with the extensive cost-cutting programme it applied throughout 2016 and remain optimistic that with the current strategy of focusing on home grown brands, a statement said.

Along with restructuring of the existing portfolio, Marka should be able to show continued revenue growth and achieve profitability by the end of this year, it added. – TradeArabia News Service