Prof. Wafic Sin no Avenue Mir Majid Arslan Av enue Ahmad Shawki St Shawki Ahmad Fawzi Daouk Street St ek ch Hoy ch riar Port W Kortas St Kortas W Pat Adnan El Hakim Street St Adnan El Hakim Street Avenue des Francais Tripoli St La Mar seillaise St Tries hreddine St hreddine Toufic El Hibri te Fak Khan El Chou ek St ne Street Dabbagha Mos St Hoy Abdallah Beyhum St Tijara St Fakhry Bey St Bey Fakhry Chateaubriand St Chateaubriand enby El Sadeq George Shehade St George que St Street All ch Malak Rafic Salloum St Rafic Salloum Moutrane S St riar Omar Daouk t Street Pat Azmi St Bey S t Abdel Weygand Saad Zaghloul St h Foc Abdel H. KadiUruguay The Master Plan St Argentine St St You Hamid ssef Rami St Wey Byblos St gand St i Abou Jamil St St Wad Z Kaddour Prewar shoreline Karame St Bazerkan a St George Ak Sh. R Kabbani ouri nce St Charles Hel Fra Souk Cadmus St El Maaniyin New development - low density ou Avenue i Abou Jamil St Wad ein El Ahdab St Capuchin St St Al Omari Mosque H=52m Boustah Huss Al New development - medium density hreddine St Ch M Jisr St Etoile Al Arz Solh St Street Fak Square St ah H=52m nce St Banks New development - high density Fra Boust Al Chaab St Martyrs' Al Maliya S t Square Street Street Riad Al Construction allowed Army St Capuchin St St oun St Naher Ibrahim Street andess Souk H=48m below corniche level Army St Abou Al Nasr Khatchic Babikian St aarad Parliament George Haddad Restored building St Bechara Al Mouh A R Hout St R Mgsr Toubia A R R R Church R R Amir R Al M R R Riad Al Solh R (?) R Street Square Public or religious building Bachir Street Evangelical Gouraud Amir Amine St Naccache St Open space St Boutros St A Akl Akl General St Syria Lazariye St Khalil Ghalghoul S Pedestrian streets / links Gibran St St Garden t Mere Gel iye Fouad las St Mkhalliss Cheikh Toufic Khaled St Chehab St Kanafani & Mar Maroun Street Archeological sites St Syria Debbas Al Khoury St Mar Square Said Damascus St Av Mansour St Ariss a enue Charles Debbas St Utilities Haddad George Bechar © Solidere General Fouad Chehab Avenue At the heart of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut city center is an 2 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS urban area thousands of years old, traditionally a focus of 6 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE business, finance, government, culture and leisure. Its 10 THE PROJECT reconstruction constitutes one of the most ambitious urban revitalization projects of our times. REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 14 EXISTING CITY CENTER SITE DEVELOPMENT The Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction 24 EXISTING CITY CENTER MASTER PLANNING of the Beirut Central District s.a.l. (Solidere) is a joint-stock 32 NEW WATERFRONT DISTRICT SITE DEVELOPMENT company established on May 5, 1994. 38 NEW WATERFRONT DISTRICT MASTER PLANNING 42 REAL ESTATE STRATEGY It is based on Law 117 of 1991, which regulates Lebanese real 50 RESTORATION estate companies aiming at the reconstruction of war-damaged 56 SALE AND RENTAL STRATEGY areas, in accordance with an officially approved master plan. Its 68 CORPORATE FUNDING AND TREASURY share capital is US$1.65 billion. 70 SOLIDERE SHARES AND GDRs 72 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STUDIES As it spearheads and oversees this project, Solidere is bringing life to Beirut’s central district and turning it into the finest city CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS center in the Middle East. 73 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT 74 BALANCE SHEET The Company issues annual and semi-annual reports to its 75 STATEMENT OF INCOME shareholders. Solidere’s activities through the end of 2005 are 76 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS also summarized in its twelfth Annual Report. 77 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY 78 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS This Annual Report includes for the first time consolidated financial statements, which consolidate the accounts of Beirut EXTRACTS OF STANDALONE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Waterfront Development s.a.l., a subsidiary with 50% Solidere 104 BALANCE SHEET shareholding. The consolidated financial statements, as well as 105 STATEMENT OF INCOME the standalone financial statement, are prepared and audited in 106 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS accordance with international standards. 107 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY 108 BOARD OF DIRECTORS GENERAL MANAGEMENT solidere annual report 2005 1 CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2005 2004 Summary of Operations (in US$ million) Gross land sales 252.8 169.4 Gross rental income 20.8 18.6 General and administrative expenses 11.5 10.1 Net income 108.5 54.1 Sales backlog* 1,119.2* 78.5 Stock Data per Share (in US$) Earnings 0.6858 0.3400 Shareholders’ equity 11.62 10.84 Stock price range A shares 6.87–19.00 4.290–8.770 B shares 6.87–19.25 4.350–8.720 GDRs 7.63–18.00 4.975–8.125 Financial Data (in US$ million) Cash/cash equivalents and securities 121.1 119.6 Accounts and notes receivable 272.8 210.9 Properties held for development and sale 1527.4 1607.3 Investment properties 160.5 158.7 Total liabilities 282.0 435.6 Retained earnings 185.6 82.9 Legal reserves 46.7 35.8 Treasury stock (38.5) (69.8) Total shareholders’ equity 1845.1 1695.3 Financial Ratios (%) Return (interest income) on liquid assets 4.68 4.43 Debt to equity ratio 7.09 13.98 * As at March 31, 2006. 2 solidere annual report 2005 solidere annual report 2005 3 Investors’ interest in our project is such that demand sometimes precedes the delivery of developed land. The latest illustration is the early purchasing of sites in the new waterfront district, for delivery to investors on completion of land reclamation. We have taken measures to expedite the reclamation works after termination of the Radian contract in February 2006, and will inform investors about the planned timing of site delivery. We will soon launch the design of infrastructure for the new waterfront district, integrating Formula One capability and comprising an upgraded range of utility networks. The Martyrs’ Square axis international urban design competition, under the auspices of the International Union of Architects, was an unqualified success. Utilizing the best features of the winning scheme together with contributions from our consultants and in-house team, we prepared CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE a new sector plan for the area. A number of government decrees ratified BCD Master Plan amendments reflecting the new sector plans for the Martyrs’ Square axis, Ghalghoul, Souks, hotel and waterfront districts. We have now moved into Phase Two of the project and have adapted our strategies accordingly. In addition to the Beirut Souks, we intend to focus on several large-scale real estate projects Beirut city center continues to be a most sought-after place by visitors and residents as well as to enhance our rental revenues. We will also complete the remaining restoration work in our investors. We are particularly gratified to see the intense and growing interest expressed by a large Wadi Abou Jamil and Zokak El Blatt residential properties. and diversified network of investors, including some key business figures and institutions in the Arab world. Within our strategy to attract businesses and residents, direct broadband connection will, by the last quarter of this year, ensure high speed connectivity, state-of-the-art technology for broadband This of course is justified. Over the past 12 years, one of the finest city centers in the Middle East communication and multimedia services in all BCD buildings. Other special services provided by has evolved in Beirut. Together with a remarkable location and other attributes, it enjoys new Solidere, some with participating property owners and users, supplement regular municipal infrastructure and beautifully landscaped open spaces, with many new ones planned for the next services. We continue to stimulate real estate projects by providing advice to investors, building on few years. A range of mutually supportive land uses, residential, hotel, institutional, office and our recent urban and design studies for new development sectors. Our idea of selling development retail activities, form the basis of a coordinated and sustainable development both in terms of blocks with concept designs proved to be efficient in ensuring coherence of architecture, enhancing urbanism and economics. the esthetics of each sector and giving a time advantage to buyers-developers. The city center is reinvigorated as the Lebanese capital’s focus of government, business and Financially, 2005 was a boom year, with a record net profit of US$108.5 million, US$125.6 million banking. We have also succeeded in emphasizing downtown living, culture, heritage and civic before income tax. This represents a 100% increase on 2004 profits, mainly due to surging land value, while creating a magnet of tourism, shopping and leisure. The conservation area is full of sales to Lebanese and Arab investors. The growth in demand has been accompanied by an appetite shops and cafés, Beirut Marina with yachts and boats, and the whole city center is vibrant with for larger-size projects, commanding higher land prices, and a trend towards front-ended deals in people and events. Downtown Beirut has become an artistic destination, and exhibitions are held terms of cash. Recognized sales reached US$253 million, the highest level since inception. We throughout the year in the Planet Discovery exhibition hall, partly within our artists-in-residence have also established a record in new sales. The US$1.1 billion signed in the first quarter of 2006 program, in the Saifi Village Quartier des Arts and in other galleries.