Seef: The owners of the one of the oldest cinemas Awal Cinema Bahrain is to be demolished and BD7 million brand new Cinema will be built on the same premises.
“Talks are ongoing to build a new Cinema with a tentative cost of BD6 to BD7 million,” the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Esam Abdulla Fakhro of Bahrain Cinema Co. on the sidelines of the Company’s AGM told reporters.
Bahrain Cinema Company also known as Cineco conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at Screen 2 in Cineco Megaplex at Bahrain City Centre. The meetings were presided over by the Chairman Dr Esam Fakhro and attended by members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Management team and the Shareholders of Bahrain Cinema Company.
The shareholders approved the minutes of the AGM/EGM held last year and approved the financials for the year 2014. Bahrain Cinema Company recorded a total net profit of BD 7.5million in 2014, a 20% increase as compared to the previous year. The company registered a Net Profit of BD 803,666 for the fourth quarter of the year 2014 as against the Net Profit of BD 786,596 reported in the corresponding period of the financial year 2013. The shareholders also approved the distribution of cash dividends to shareholders equal to 50% of the paid up capital, which is 50 fils per share for the financial year ending 31st December 2014, allocation of BD 19,787,352 to Retained Profits and transfer BD 550,823 from the company’s net profit to the Statutory Reserve and also reviewed the report of the board on the company’s activities and the auditors’ report on the financial statements.
During the AGM the shareholders also discussed the Corporate Governance Report for the year 2014 and agreed to absolve the Directors from any liabilities for the year ended 31st December 2014.
The Extraordinary General Meeting followed the AGM where the shareholders agreed on making amendments to the Article of Association of the company for the purpose of adding activities viz., to buy and sell investment property for business and charitable activities and to undertake outdoor catering services to its Commercial Registration License and to make an amendment to the Articles of Association of the subsidiary company. The meeting also approved the amendments of the Company’s Article of Association as per the Law No. 50 for the year 2014 amending the Commercial Companies Law No.21 for the year 2001.
“Every year is challenging, our aim is to keep growing and improving our services and the level of entertainment year after year. We ended the year with sound results, which we hope to build on in 2015. For 2014, we reported a commendable rise of 20% in net profit as compared to the previous year. We are very pleased with the significant progress the company has achieved and will leave no stone unturned in placing the company on a path towards growth and success,” Dr Esam said.
“We have ambitious growth plans for the years ahead; we are planning to introduce new cinemas in Qatar and also a new restaurant in Qatar at the Gulf Mall Qatar which will be open to the public towards the beginning of the third quarter 2015. There are other expansion plans as well which we will announce in the near future. On behalf of the Board I would like to thank the shareholders for the confidence and support they have in the company. I acknowledge and appreciate the dedication and hard work of all our employees because these results are a sum of their actions,” he added.
“Bahrain Cinema Company has shown tremendous growth in the past thirteen years as the company showed exceptional performance in its Market Capitalization where share values increased by 1300%, which translates into an increase of 100% every year for the last 13 years since 2001.We have very clear goals which are to further improve the company performance by implementing new strategies, adopting an enhanced business model and achieve greater results. We have seen tremendous progress and hope to build on this momentum and deliver superior results for our clients, the shareholders and the company in the subsequent years. I look forward to this year and I am confident that we will maximize our revenues, simultaneously enhancing the financial position of the company,” the CEO of Bahrain Cinema Company, Ahmed Rashid said.
Cineco Operations include the management of a large number of cinemas and restaurants within Bahrain and the G.C.C countries. From humble beginnings in 1968 in Bahrain, Cineco succeeded over the years by pioneering many firsts, establishing benchmarks in Bahrain’s entertainment industry. Cineco now owns and operates a total of 44 cinema screens in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and 27 screens in Qatar. Cineco continues to strive towards maintaining sustainable growth through the philosophy of business excellence using the best business excellence model.