Al-Khana: KD 250 million in eligible opportunities for Bayat Holding
Bayut Holding Company held its analyst conference for the second quarter of the current year, with the participation of the Group’s Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abdulrahman Al-Khanna, and Group Chief Financial Officer Ahmed Shawky.
Initially, Al-Khanna reaffirmed Bayut’s leadership as a regional integrated provider of human resources solutions, supported by a specialized arm in the real estate sector. He explained that the company’s revenue relies on two main drivers: the first and primary one is the human resources solutions sector, which operates across seven different countries, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq, and Jordan.
The second sector is real estate, which primarily supports our human resources operations, particularly in the housing sector. We have acquired extensive experience in managing both residential and government properties, becoming specialists in one of the most prominent public-private partnership mechanisms: the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model.
Regarding the most significant developments in one of Bayut’s key projects, “Bayut Plus” in the Mutlaa area, Al-Khanna revealed that the completion rate has currently reached approximately 50 percent. He expects the opening to take place in the third quarter of 2027, describing the project as one of the largest BOT projects we manage, valued at 100 million dinars, with leasable areas reaching approximately 168,000 square meters. This project will eventually serve between 300,000 and 500,000 residents, which is the projected population of Mutlaa City by 2030. He noted that leasing operations are continuing successfully, with contracts signed with major tenants covering approximately 34 to 35 percent of the leasable area, and advanced negotiations underway with 36 other major tenants to occupy the remaining spaces.
Al-Khanna disclosed that Bayut targets generating revenues of approximately 13 million dinars from the Mutlaa project upon reaching 95 percent of operational capacity, which will be achieved gradually according to a timeline extending from one to 18 months.
Upon achieving revenues of 13 million dinars, we expect to realize a net profit of approximately 4 million dinars specifically from this project.
Regarding new contracts, Al-Khanna revealed that the value of contracts won by Bayut so far is around 10 million dinars, while we still have a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities totaling 250 million dinars, of which 150 million dinars are at various stages of the contracting cycle.
He noted that Bayut’s win rate in government tenders is very strong, maintaining a competitive leading position primarily due to the efficiency of our cost structure and the professionalism of our pricing team.
He added: “We have successfully secured contracts worth 10 million dinars so far. With the year halfway through, our performance indicator in the region remains in the red zone compared to our annual target of 75 million dinars, as some delays related to award cycles have temporarily slowed progress toward the goal.”
Regarding the portfolio of opportunities and projects currently being pursued by Bayut, Al-Khanna pointed to opportunities valued at 150 million dinars at the qualification stage, and other opportunities worth 85 million dinars at the development stage, involving direct contract negotiations and pricing. Therefore, our primary objective is to convert these promising opportunities into actual contracts.
On growth rates in regional markets since the launch of the regional expansion plan, Al-Khanna indicated that they exceed 10 percent, and in several markets such as Saudi Arabia, they surpass that figure significantly, with growth reaching approximately 100 percent. Meanwhile, revenues in the UAE increased by 80 percent, and we are now beginning to reap the benefits of this expansion.
Speaking about the real estate sector, Al-Khana said: “We are still at ‘Bayut’, continuing to focus on and win public-private partnership projects. Bayut has won the Al-Muthanna project in collaboration with its partners, and we are currently in a 24-month grace period to develop the project, with financial returns expected to start flowing by 2028.
He revealed a restructuring and diversification of growth pathways, noting that business related to the US government previously accounted for about 25 to 30 percent of our total revenues, but its share has now declined to roughly a quarter of its previous levels, which has clearly impacted revenue volume.
Growing growth in our other sectors not tied to the US government is helping to offset this decline in overall revenues. Bayut is operating with greater flexibility and innovation in managing its cost structure, integrating artificial intelligence tools to boost operational efficiency, while simultaneously maximizing profit margins on existing contracts.
Regarding forecasts for 2027 and 2028, he said they point to the real estate sector’s outperformance, alongside business expansion in the Saudi market and the launch of new projects in Kuwait, as well as a return of US government activity to higher levels. This will enable us to witness a more balanced performance, and the human resources sector will regain its leading position as a key driver of Bayut’s operations.”
