Dubai Malls Operator Revenue Climbs as Expansion Offsets VAT - Bloomberg

Dubai Malls Operator Revenue Climbs as Expansion Offsets VAT - Bloomberg:

Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC, the Dubai-based conglomerate which operates Carrefour SA stores in the Middle East, posted a 13 percent increase in revenue during the first half, as the company’s regional expansion helped weather the impact of value-added taxation at home.

Sales climbed to 17.8 billion dirhams ($4.85 billion) from a year earlier despite “adverse market conditions,” Chief Executive Officer Alain Bejjani told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday in Dubai. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization grew 4 percent to 2.1 billion dirhams.

MAF, as the group is known, has steadily extended its presence beyond Dubai to countries including Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. The group is opening 100 new Carrefour supermarkets in Egypt, 600 cinemas in Saudi Arabia and is expanding in Kenya, Bejjani said.