Page 135 - ALEF EDUCATION PR REPORT NOVEMBER 2024

11/7/24, 1:10 PM Lulu IPO: Retailer raises $1.72bn in UAE’s largest listing this year | The National
The retailer is targeting a total dividend payout ratio of 75 per cent of annual distributable

profits after tax, paid semi-annually. The company aims to pay dividends for the six

months ending December 31 and in the first half of 2025.

It expects “strong macroeconomic growth” across its network, driven by favourable
demographic and consumption trends, Mr Rupawala said earlier.

Lulu Retail plans to open an additional eight branches this year in the UAE, Saudi Arabia

and Oman. It has opened 13 shops in the Emirates so far this year and aims to add about

19 in 2025, mainly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, officials said last month.

The Abu Dhabi-based company expects up to 10 per cent revenue growth this year, its
chief financial officer Prasad KK told The National.

“The UAE is our main market and Saudi Arabia is our growth market. We are growing

across the two markets,” he said at the time.

The retailer's IPO is the latest in a string of listings across the UAE, driven by robust

investor demand for new issues amid economic growth momentum in the country.

ADNH Catering, a unit of Abu Dhabi National Hotels, raised Dh864 million through the

sale of a 40 per cent stake to the public after pricing its shares at the top of the indicated

range last month. NMDC Energy, a unit of Abu Dhabi contractor National Marine

Dredging Company, also began trading on the ADX in September after raising $877

million, while Alef Education raised $515 million from its IPO in Abu Dhabi in June.

IPO activity in the Mena region remained strong in the third quarter of this year, with five

IPOs raising $0.93 billion, according to EY. The proceeds are higher by 76.8 per cent on a

year-on-year basis.

An additional 11 private companies across various sectors as well as five funds intend to

list on the MENA exchanges by the end of this year, according to EY's Mena IPO Eye Q3

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