Engel General Developers, a developer of housing in Israel and other emerging markets, reported 2003 first quarter net loss of $300,000 (1.4 million new Israeli shekels), compared with a net income of $5,000 (NIS0.2 million) for the first quarter of 2002.
Revenues for the quarter increased to $8.2 million (NIS38.2 million) from $6.5 million (NIS30.6 million) in the first quarter of 2002. The gross profit increased to $1.1 million (NIS5.2 million) from $0.1 million (NIS0.5 million) in the first quarter of 2002.
Finance expenses for the first 3 months of 2003 were $0.5 million (NIS 2.4 million) compared to finance income of $0.67 million (NIS 3.1 million) in the same period of 2002, primarily due to a decrease in the dollar exchange rate and an increase in the company's total debt.
Yaacov Engel, chairman of the board and CEO commented: "Our gross profit is much improved due to high profitability of our projects abroad as well as our investments in projects of other developers. We expect such projects to be reflected in our financial results in the future.”
“The control of the company was recently transferred from our parent company, Yaakov Engel Enterprises Construction Company Ltd. (YEC), to a subsidiary of YEC, as a part of a re-organization process in the Engel group of companies. In connection with this re-organization process, YEC committed to provide us with guarantees and required equity for our future development projects.”
“We believe that such support will facilitate our access to sources of capital and will assist us in participating in entrepreneurial projects which may have higher gross margin," he concluded.
Engel General Developers is a developer of moderately- priced, quality housing in Israel and a developer of quality housing in Eastern and Central Europe. The company designs, develops, markets and oversees the construction of a variety of homes, varying in size and price, in numerous locations throughout Israel, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and other countries.
Homes developed by the company are generally targeted to first-time buyers, young couples and move-up buyers and are located in or within commuting distance of major urban areas. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
