RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, announced the company's financial results of operations for the fourth quarter and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.

KHC reported the gross operating profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 amounted to $113 million compared to the same quarter in 2012 of $99 million, representing an increase of 14.2%. The fourth quarter results of $61.6 million as compared to the net income of $55.9 million in the previous quarter, represented an increase of 10.3%. The consolidated net income for twelve months ended December 31, 2013 was $198 million, compared to the net income of $188.5 million for the same period in 2012, representing an increase of 5.0%.

With respect to KHC's listed portfolio companies in 2013, they increased in value by over $1 billion (SR 4 billion).

The overall recovery in the global economy was reflected in the continued improvement in the performance of KHC's unlisted portfolio companies, which include Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding Intl and Movenpick Hotels and Resorts AG, NAS, real estate projects which include the Jeddah project that encompasses the highest tower in the world, and Kingdom Riyadh project. Also included are KADCO Egypt, and hotel real estate investments such as The Plaza (New York), the Savoy Hotel (London) and the Four Seasons, George V Hotel (Paris), in addition to Kingdom Schools and Medical Services Projects Company.

In 2011, KHC and Prince Alwaleed invested $300 million in Twitter (before it went public), which increased to approximately $1.2 billion (SR 4.5 billion) since Twitter's IPO in November 2013 and as of closing on Tuesday December 31st 2013.

In 2013, KHC led a consortium of investors advised by QInvest LLC, Qatar's leading investment bank, for the acquisition of a strategic stake in Jingdong Inc (JD) (previously known as 360 Buy) the largest B2C direct sales e-commerce company in China for the value of SR1.5 Billion. The investment by KHC in this deal was approximately SR470 Million. JD is expected to go public during the second half of 2014.

Moreover, KHC's domestic assets have also been a strong contributor to the value appreciation of the unlisted portfolio assets.

Recently, KHC announced the completion of the piling works for the tallest tower in the world (Kingdom Tower) with a height of over 1,000 meters and a total cost of SR4.6 billion. This achievement is considered to be the base for building above ground. The tallest tower is part of Jeddah Economic Company's (JEC) new urban development of more than 5.3 million sqm of land in the north of Jeddah overlooking the Red Sea and Obhur Creek.

Furthermore, KHC announced the progress being made on building the infrastructure of the Kingdom Riyadh project, located east of the Saudi Arabian capital. The project is being developed by Kingdom Real Estate Development Company (KRED), and the first phase of the 4.9 million m² is expected to be completed in 4 months. In this regard, 75% of the excavation, cut and fill and drainage works by the main roads have been completed.

Moreover, KRED has signed an agreement with Colliers International to do the feasibility study based on market needs in terms of residential, office and commercial lands.

Founded in 1980, KHC is a publicly traded company, which was listed on the Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. KHC is one of the world's most successful and diversified business organizations, highly respected in the field of investments and recognized as an elite player in the Arabian Gulf region, and internationally. The company is recognized as one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. KHC's portfolio has its major interests in investment categories ranging from luxury hotel management hotel companies (Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding Intl and Movenpick Hotels and Resorts AG) and real estate (Kingdom Tower and the Jeddah and Kingdom Riyadh projects) to hotel real estate investments such as The Plaza, New York, Savoy Hotel, London and Four Seasons, George V Hotel, Paris. KHC also has investments in Media and Publishing (News Corporation, Time Warner, Saudi Research and Marketing Group and Rotana Group), as well as in Entertainment (Euro Disney S.C.A). In addition, Finance and Investment services (Citigroup), Social Media and Technology (Twitter, AOL, Apple and Motorola), as well as consumer and retail, petrochemicals (Saks Incorporated and Jingdong). Moreover, KHC has investments in Education (Kingdom Schools), Health Care (Medical Services Projects Company), Aviation (NAS Saudi Arabia) and Agriculture (Kingdom Agricultural Development Company - KADCO Egypt).

For more information contact:

Intisar Al Yamani
Kingdom Holding Company
+966-11-211-1111
www.KINGDOM.com.sa
Media@kingdom.com.sa
Twitter: @Kingdom_KHC

SOURCE Kingdom Holding Company