(The Group's Comment) WIDAM Net Profit in 2018 Rises 0.3% to QR 108.39 Million

Profits: The Company's profits amounted to about QR108.4 million in 2018, compared to QR108.1 million in 2017. Earnings per share reached QR 6.02 in 2018, compared to QR6 in 2017.
There is an agreement between the company and the Qatari Government, under which the company imports and sells Australian cattle in the local market at a fixed price. The company is subsidized for every kilogram of meat sold. In 2018, Armenian and Sudanese meat was also included in the agreement.
 
Revenues:  Revenues increased by 4% in 2018 to QR 516.0 million, compared to QR 495.7 million in 2017. Meat sales represent about 61% of the total sales of the company, which accounts for about 27% of the Qatari market share of meat trade.
 
Sales costs: It amounted to about QR935 million or 181% of revenues in 2018, compared to QR779 million in 2017. It is known that the government subsidizes the company for every kilogram of meat sold in the local market to create a balance between supply and demand, and curb market price. The subsidy paid to the company is about QR565.7 million in 2018, compared to QR430.9 million in 2017, up 31%.
  
Comprehensive Income: Total comprehensive income was about QR102.6 million in 2018, compared to QR106.0 million in 2017. Comprehensive income statement shows that in 2018 the company incurred losses as result of differences in the foreign currencies translation.
  
Shareholders' Equity: It reached QR 365.4 million in 2018, compared to QR 342.00 million in 2017. The return on equity amounted to 29.66% in 2018, and the book value of the share was QR 20.30.
 
Dividends: The Board of Directors recommended to the General Assembly to distribute 30% (4.41% dividend) of the nominal value of capital as cash dividends for 2018, compared to 42.5% in 2017.
 
The stock is currently traded at a PE multiple of 11.30, and a book value at a multiple of 3.35 times