The Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC) has reported a 64 percent drop in its bottom line in the first half of the financial year 2002. Despite a 19 percent net revenue increase reaching EP 66.1 million ($14.2 million), the company’s 73.2 percent decrease in interest income caused the drop.
EMPC’s net profits reached seven million Egyptian pounds in the first six months of the year; down from the EP 19.4 million it posted during the corresponding period the previous year.
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 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. EMPC is currently negotiating a LE 350 million loan with Bank of Alexandria and National Bank of Egypt to help finance the cost of building another additional complex. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
