(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Mohammad Shoeb / The Peninsula
Shareholders of Mannai Corporation yesterday gave their approval for the amendment in the company's Articles of Association (AoA) in compliance with the new regulatory provisions with regard to Corporate Governance.
The decision is in line with the new ‘Governance Code for Companies & Legal Entities Listed on the Main Market' recently passed by Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), the capital market regulator.
The decision was taken at the ‘Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting' (EGM), which was chaired by Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdulla Al Thani, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mannai Corporation.
Sheikh Suhaim, reading out the statement of the company's Chairman, Shiekh Hamad bin Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Thani, before the Assembly noted that 'the Board of Directors has always appreciated the importance of the principles of Corporate Governance and recognised the importance of their application, even before issuance of the Code, adding that 'accommodating these provisions from the Corporate Governance Code for Companies and Legal Entities Listed in the Main Market in our Articles of Association will contribute to the advancement of the Corporate Governance culture in the company and will further enhance our corporate governance practices.
'We are amending our Articles of Association to reflect on the new Corporate Governance Code wherever our AoA did not have certain provisions, Alekh Grewal, Group Chief Executive Officer and Director, told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the EGM.
Asked about the company's future plans and fourth quarter financials, especially the revenues and profits, he said that the company is performing well and moving ahead as per the strategy, and financial results are expected to be announced by the end of February 2018. But he did not provide any further details citing regulatory constraints.
The company recorded a group revenue of QR4.4bn for the third quarter of 2017, up 26 percent from a year ago.
The gross profit increased by 24 percent to QR1.0bn. During the year the company continued with its strategy of diversifying geographically by acquiring controlling interests in GFI Informatique a French publicly listed major IT company operating in France and 16 other countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America.
The increase in the gross profit is mainly due to the acquisition of controlling interests in GFI Informatique.
With this acquisition the company now employs over 20,000 employees of 42 different nationalities in 20 countries. The pre-tax profits showed a decline of 15 percent (QR294m) compared to the previous year, partly due to increase in finance cost incurred for funding the acquisition and the general market condition in the region.
However, the company is optimistic of improving the performance in the long term on the back of overseas investments made in the recent past and other opportunities in Qatar as the country embarks on major infrastructure projects for hosting FIFA World Cup in 2022.
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