The Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC) has reported a 62 percent drop in its bottom line in the first quarter of the financial year 2002. During these four months, the company’s net profits reached 4.19 million Egyptian pounds ($900,000), down from the EP10.93 million it posted the corresponding period the previous year.
During the same time, EMPC’s operating revenue reached EP27.26 million, representing a 12 percent rise year on year, while operating expenses were up 11 percent and totaled EP18.48 million. As a result, gross profit for the first quarter of 2002 increased 15 percent to EP8.78 million.Nonetheless, a 69 percent slump in interest income, that reached EP3.04 million brought down EMPC’s net income.
Second only to Hollywood and Bombay, Cairo has been the powerhouse of the Middle East film industry for decades. In a bid to preserve its stature as the cinema capital of the Arab world, the Egyptian government had decided in 1997 to establish the region's most comprehensive production facility.
The EMPC complex, which enjoys a free zone status, owns two million square meters in the 6th of October city, within the compounds of the Media Free Zone. Its main activity is hiring out media production facilities to television and cinematic companies, and to a lesser extent conduct its own production.
The city currently operates 11 indoor studios and various outdoor areas. The company's main project, the Mubarak International Studio Complex, housing 18 state of the art studios, was inaugurated in mid-June. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
