UPDATE 1-Dubai's Marka delays profitability to 2016, ramps up acquisitions
DUBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - Dubai's Marka , a retail start-up that listed on the emirate's bourse last year, expects to become profitable in 2016, it said on Tuesday, instead of later this year as it consolidates new acquisitions and buys more businesses.
The company, which focuses on the sports, hospitality and food and beverage sectors, will make five to six acquisitions this year, as well as buy up to 12 franchises and invest in start-ups, Chief Executive Nick Peel told reporters in Dubai.
It is looking at investments worth 250 million dirhams ($68 million) each, to be funded by the company's capital and bank financing at an average 30-70 percent split, officials said.
On Tuesday, it said it had bought a 65 percent stake in Icons, a football memorabilia company, for 15.3 million dirhams ($4.2 million).
It agreed to buy sporting goods firm Retailcorp from Istithmar World for 220 million dirhams in December. It has also bought stakes in food chains, including in the popular Arabic restaurant Reem Al Bawadi.
Consolidating the newly acquired businesses had caused a slight delay in profitability, Managing Director Khaled Almheiri said. In January, Marka said it expected to turn profitable in the fourth quarter of 2015.
"What's important is that we are not buying businesses for them to stand still. We are scaling those businesses relatively quickly," Peel said.
There is an absolutely huge number of opportunities coming our way. Since we launched, we've had about 41 businesses approach us," he said. Almheiri said the sports division should yield sales of 250 million dirhams in 2015. ($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirham)
