Hello, I am Ahmed Al Jifri, MCDC's Industry Relations Director, and today I would like to welcome you all to our H1 2026 earnings call. It gives me great pleasure to be joined today by our CFO, Mr. Ahmed Jaber. Our webcast today will consist of a presentation covering our H1 performance, and then we'll conclude with a Q&A session. I would like to remind everyone that this webcast is being recorded and will be uploaded to our website, hopefully by end of day tomorrow. Before we dive into the presentation, I would like to note our cautionary statement. We will be giving some forward-looking guidance, some expectations, and plans. However, outcomes and results may materially differ based on what's shown in the slide. With that out of the way, we can move on to the presentation. Thank you, Ahmed, and good afternoon, everyone. I would like to welcome you and thank you for joining us today. The first half of 2026 delivered strong performance across our core businesses, alongside continued progress in executing our strategy to create sustainable long-term value. I will now take you through the key financial and operational highlights for the period. Starting with revenue, we reached SAR 952 million for the half, up 53% year-on-year. Net profit rose 14% to SAR 335 million. The difference in growth rates reflects our revenue mix, with Hajj representing a larger share of the top line this period. Adjusted free cash flow was SAR 298 million, up 81%. This figure excludes the Ajyad land acquisition of SAR 951 million completed in the first quarter, which we treat separately as a strategic investment rather than part of our ongoing operating cycle. On the operating side, our average lease rate increased 13% to SAR 19,222 per square meter, reflecting the expanded leasable area and an improved tenant mix. RevPAR also rose 13% to SAR 1,072 per room, supported by strong demand through Ramadan that carried into the Hajj season. Overall, a period of strong top-line growth alongside solid performance across our core assets. Moving to sector performance, starting with Makkah Hotel & Towers. At the hotel, ADR increased 15% to SAR 1,531, driving RevPAR up 14% to SAR 1,222. Occupancy was broadly stable at 79.8%, down half a percentage point as we prioritized rate over volume during peak demand periods. At the Towers, occupancy improved from 83.1% to 88.5%, a gain of over five percentage points, with ADR up 7% to SAR 1,097 and RevPAR up 14% to SAR 971. Taken together, the combined asset delivered occupancy of 85%, up from 81.9%, with ADR up 9% and RevPAR up 13% to SAR 1,072. On capacity, we have added average available keys this period at 1,378 against a total of 1,433. Occupancy and RevPAR are now calculated on available keys, excluding rooms out of service or under renovation. This gives a cleaner view of underlying performance as the renovation gets underway. Turning to MCDC Mall. Gross profit increased 31% to SAR 142 million, with gross profit margin expanding 5.5 percentage points to 85%. Three factors drove this. First, we expanded leasable area by 6% to 16,901 square meters, converting more of our available space into income-generating area. Second, the average lease rate rose 13% to SAR 19,222 per square meter, reflecting an improved tenant mix and stronger renewal terms. Third, occupancy remained effectively full at 99.1%, marginally ahead of last year. The combination of more space, higher rates, and near full occupancy is what delivered the margin expansion, and it reflects the asset enhancement work we have been carrying out across the mall. Turning to Hajj. Before the numbers, one important note on the basis of comparison. We are comparing season to season, not period to period. Last year, the Hajj season straddled the second and third quarters, so full year 2025 figures are the appropriate comparison. This year, the season fell almost entirely within the second quarter, which is why our first half revenue reflects the complete season. On that basis, revenue grew 40% to SAR 472 million, and we served 87,904 pilgrims, up 38% from just under 64,000. That growth in pilgrim numbers reflects the continued expansion of our operations. Gross profit increased 15% to SAR 17 million, with margin at 3.6%, down 1.2 percentage points. Margin in this business is currently constrained by the limited capital deployed against it. The operation runs on a largely asset-light basis. We are focused on improving this over time and will evaluate selective capital investment in the business, taking a measured and disciplined approach to any deployment. Turning to the key financial indicators. One note first on the Hajj figures in this table, they are presented period to period, first half against first half, which is the correct basis for financial reporting. But the two periods don't contain the same amount of Hajj activity. Last year, the season straddled Q2 and Q3, while this year it fell almost entirely within Q2. That's why Hajj revenue shows 139% growth here against the 40% on the sector slide. The 40% is the more meaningful measure because it compares one complete season against another. We'd encourage you to use that number when assessing the business. On the segments, Makkah Hotel & Towers contributed SAR 314 million, up 8%. MCDC Mall, SAR 167 million, up 22%. Hajj, SAR 472 million on this reporting basis. Gross profit grew 21% to SAR 378 million. EBITDA increased 12% to SAR 360 million, and net profit rose 14% to SAR 335 million, with earnings per share of SAR 1.67 against SAR 1.47. Operating cash flow more than doubled to SAR 360 million. CapEx of SAR 1,013 million reflects the Ajyad land acquisition of SAR 951 million, bringing reported free cash flow to negative SAR 653 million. Excluding Ajyad, adjusted free cash flow was positive at SAR 298 million. Gearing stood at 19.6%, reflecting the bridge facility drawn to part-fund the acquisition, and return on equity improved to 13% from 11% on a trailing 12 months basis. This slide breaks down the SAR 41 million increase in net profit. Starting from SAR 294 million last year, the mall was the largest contributor, adding SAR 34 million. Hotel and Towers added SAR 19 million and Hajj, SAR 7 million. Offsetting this was a negative SAR 19 million from investment income, operating expenses, and other items. That brings us to SAR 335 million for the half, an increase of 14%. The point to take away is that the mall and hotel together drove the majority of the profit growth. Hajj drove the top line, our core assets drove profitability. Turning to cash. We opened the year with SAR 95 million and generated SAR 360 million in operating cash flow, more than double last year. Capital expenditure of SAR 1,013 million was dominated by the Ajyad land acquisition, bringing free cash flow to negative SAR 653 million. That acquisition was funded through SAR 925 million in bridge loan and financing income during the period. A further SAR 305 million reflects dividend payments and loan settlement. We closed the half with SAR 62 million in cash. The negative free cash flow is a function of a strategic acquisition. Excluding Ajyad, adjusted free cash flow was positive at SAR 298 million. Moving on to project updates, starting with the renovation of Makkah Hotel & Towers. At the hotel, phase 2 has commenced. Overall project completion has reached 20%, with 316 keys currently out of service. At the towers, phase 1 has commenced with 167 keys out of service, and works are 4% complete. The difference in progress simply reflects the sequencing. Work at the hotel began in mid-June with the removal of existing furniture and fixtures, while the towers program started in July, so the towers figure reflects a few weeks of activity rather than any delay. Both programs are timed to the low season and phased so that operations continue with minimum interruption. Turning to our remaining projects. At MCDC Mall, the redevelopment of the fourth and fifth floors has reached 33% completion, with tenant handover targeted for October 2026. This adds to the leasable area that has already supported the mall's performance this half. On Ajyad, we have awarded the rock excavation contract at a value of approximately SAR 65 million, marking the start of early site works while the detailed design phase continues in parallel. Running the two tracks together is deliberate. It allows us to begin on-site without waiting for the full design package, which compresses the overall program. Award of the main construction contract is targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Both projects are progressing in line with our plans and we will continue to update you as they advance. Turning to our guidance for 2026. Starting with Makkah Hotel & Towers, the chart shows historical RevPAR by quarter, which illustrates the seasonality of the business. The first half carries Ramadan and Hajj, while the third and fourth quarters are materially softer. That seasonality is precisely why we have scheduled the renovation as we have. We are now updating our keys out of service guidance to reflect the finalized execution plan. For the third quarter, 316 keys at the hotel and 167 at the towers. For the fourth quarter, 291 and 176 respectively. These figures have been refined as the program has been detailed, and concentrating the works in the low-season quarters means we protect the periods that matter most to revenue. At the mall, we are guiding to available area of approximately 17,700 square meters, leasable area of around 17,650, and an average lease rate of approximately SAR 17,700 per square meter. Performance in the first half has run ahead of this. On rate, we achieved SAR 19,221, which reflects the strength of the leasing environment and gives us confidence in the outlook for the year. For Hajj, we are guiding to a gross margin of 5%-6% and capacity of 60,000-70,000 pilgrims for the 2026 season. We served just under 88,000 pilgrims this season, comfortably ahead of that range, and margin came in at 3.6%. As mentioned earlier, improving Hajj margin is an area of focus, and we will evaluate selective CapEx investment to support that over time. To close, the first half of 2026 was a period of strong operational delivery alongside meaningful progress on our strategic agenda. Our core assets performed well. The MCDC Mall and the Makkah Hotel & Towers together drove the majority of our profit growth, and we delivered another successful Hajj season, serving close to 88,000 pilgrims. Alongside that, we have made real progress on the investments that will shape the coming years: Ajyad, the renovation program, the MCDC Mall development, and Masar Gardens. We enter the second half from a position of strength and remain focused on disciplined execution and long-term value creation. Thank you. Thank you, Ahmed. Now we can start the Q&A session. You can either type in your question or you can raise your hands, and then we will open up the mic for you so you can proceed to ask your question. I see no one is looking to ask any questions. I will wait for a couple of minutes. If there are no questions, I guess that means you did a really good job in the presentation. Okay. First question from Mr. Saud. Typed question from AGC. What is the reason behind the lower Hajj segment margin? Thanks, Saud, for the question. Hajj in general has a thin margin for the company, and there are several services that are subcontracted. We did not invest much of CapEx in this segment, therefore, we need to utilize subcontractors, which actually eaten a part of our margin. That is the reason we are not able to achieve a higher margin. Currently, we are studying the possibility of going and investing further in this segment. A limited CapEx amount that would contribute to a higher margin for us as well. We will update you later on if there is any improvement in this side. Okay. For anyone else, you can raise up your hand or type in your question. Okay. Follow-up question from Mr. Saud. Do you mean you have more B2B contribution this year? Yeah, part of it actually, the combination is changing to more lower-income categories. Okay. The company is focusing actually to increase the capacity and the number of pilgrims served in order to have a better chance to improve the profitability in future. Okay. I have another follow-up question from Mr. Yaser, Alistithmar Capital. What is the subcontract that you mentioned in the Hajj segment? What I mean, some services are provided, like providing an AC conditioning, furniture, tents, and this kind of fixtures and investments that usually some of the service providers are arranging it on their own, and that enable them to enjoy more contribution in that side. Yeah. So essentially just adding on that because I see the questions are focusing there. The current approach we have is no CapEx and everything is subcontracted from logistics, catering, everything. The idea here is to select certain elements, where we believe we can have the higher value creation. But we're trying to be gradual and smart about it and not over-commit capital blindly in the segment. Okay. We hope that answered the Hajj question. Any other follow-ups? Any other questions? Okay. I guess with that, we'll conclude our call. Please reach out if you have any follow-up questions. Just a minute. Actually, we have one question from Ali Azimi from CI Capital. Could you please clarify how the 20,000 square meters of new GLA should be classified? Of the total 16,000 is attributed to Ajyad Land, while the remaining 4,000 is part of the commercial mall renovation. Yes. So this is the rounded number, I guess, in the press release. It includes the current estimate of the Ajyad Plan development. However, it should be noted that the project is going for a best use case study as part of the design, so that number could be subject to change. The fourth floor redevelopment is in the ballpark of 4,500, so that's why it's a rounded number. It's not an exact number because we're trying to factor in the potential change in the numbers. I hope that covers the question, Ali. So we'll give it a few minutes. Okay. No follow-ups. So please reach out if you have any follow-up questions through our communication channels, or you can try and meet us in any of the events that we're planning to attend in September. Oh, actually, we have another question. How does Q3 look for visitors? From Rawan Shakir. What's the outlook about that? We anticipate actually to continue our good performance in the commercial mall. In terms of the hotel, usually Q3 is a more silent in terms of occupancy and ADR. It goes down. It is usually the weakest quarter in terms of hospitality. We anticipate a little bit lower income because of the rooms out for renovation. There is, of course, highs we have already recognized it in Q2. In general, we believe that the commercial mall will continue in its strong path. We will have a little bit drop in hotel due to rooms out for renovation. Any other follow-up questions? We have follow-up questions from Mr. Saud regarding Masar Gardens. Can you please elaborate more on Masar Gardens project? What is your ownership and role, and expected CapEx, and so on? Yeah. Actually, regarding Masar, we have allied with Masar Company, Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction Co., and Al Rajhi Construction. Our role mainly is to compensate the landowners who wanted to get cash contribution. From Masar side, they are the main developer. Al Rajhi Construction, they are the ones who execute the development stage. The project is currently under final assessment and feasibility study in order to go further. We expect that the land compensation will take place in the first half of next year, 2027. Inshallah. The project will proceed. It is just about signing the fund agreement. Inshallah. Exactly. Yeah. The term of the project is estimated for 5 years from starting in the first stage. If anyone would like to ask a question, you can put your hand up, or you can proceed to type the question as well. Mr. Ali Azimi from CI Capital. What is the company strategy during off-peak seasons? I guess for now, this year, we are going to use it to do the renovation for this current year. Next year, we are going to have part of the renovation remaining for the 2 remaining towers. Other than that, is there anything you can add, Badran? Yeah. Actually, we are focusing to do the renovation during the low season. In addition to that, for the commercial mall, we are continuing to complete the project of finishing the fourth floor and moving, mainly assign it for food and beverage. We expect that this will be completed by October, November in this year, Inshallah. Generally speaking, Ali, I think when you go to off-peak season, I think you are referring to hospitality. In our view, this is capacity where Umrah could pick up for visitors. I guess it is something that where we as a company have to work with the larger framework coming from the Vision 2030 of bringing in more visitors to the kingdom and to help support that element in Umrah. We believe it is an area where it is not on Makkah alone. It is something that we have to work together with various entities to bring in more Umrah visitors and hopefully improve the performance of the asset during that season. Okay. Another follow-up for Mr. Ali. Does the management actively adjust room rates to simulate demand during lower seasons? I guess our pricing strategy. Yeah, of course. During the low season, we try to come up with some packages in order to attract more visitors. That is arranged through travel agents. Then they do also the hotel management. They do some visits to some countries. So there is good marketing campaigns done during this time to attract more visitors as well. Okay. A follow-up question from Mr. Naif regarding the land compensation part for Masar Gardens. Yeah. Actually, this project, the owner of the lands in these projects need to be compensated. Or they might select to put their investment, their land value as in-kind investment in the fund. So for owners who select to be compensated, Makkah Construction and Development Company, MCDC, has taken the role of compensating those owners to their land value. That is what mainly meant by this. Yeah. This is why, because I have received many questions regarding our ownership within the project. Our ownership will depend on the number of owners who choose to not join the fund as an in-kind investment. So the value of the land is basically going to contribute to the ownership for that owner in the overall fund. Depending on the percentage of people that wish to receive cash compensation, Makkah Construction and Development Company will be paying that cash compensation, and then that will be Makkah Construction and Development Company's contribution or ownership within the project. I hope that covers your question, Naif. Okay. Another follow-up question from Ali Azimi, CI Capital. License expansion from 10K to 100K, does this apply to both Hajj and Umrah services or only one of the two segments? Actually, this applies for the Hajj segment only. Yeah. Okay. Another follow-up question from Ali Azimi. Can the company expand beyond the current 100K license capacity, or there are regulatory operational constraints limiting further growth? Yeah. The company actually is studying the possibility of expanding more than 100,000. That, of course, require some licensing arrangement. It is possible, but the company need to do some arrangement with the regulatories about it. Yeah. So it is possible, but I guess right now our focus is on the margin rather than the volume growth, as part of the overall company strategy. So we need to really enhance the margin in the Hajj side because there is room to capture value there. Okay, so another follow-up question. Does this reflect inherently high operation cost of providing accommodation, transportation, catering, and pilgrim services? So this is essentially all of the services, you could say, within the Hajj segment. So for example, the Hajj MCDC operates doesn't solely offer accommodation within MCDC assets. It operates beyond that, so you could offer different categories, depending on the clientele and who you are targeting. The services, essentially, yes. So when you subcontract transportation, catering, tents, ACs, other fixtures, furniture, and then also the manpower required, the seasonal manpower this all essentially eats up. This is why, as the CFO highlighted about the selective CapEx for margin enhancement. Abu Ahmed, you want to add something? Yeah, exactly. We are currently assessing the possibility of improving the contribution by adding more or investing more in CapEx. Otherwise, we have the regular services that we need to provide, like catering, transportation, the leasing of areas, leasing or renting some rooms. That is in general what is in the operating expenses for this segment. Okay. So very interesting Q&A session. It is the first session where we have 100% of the questions typed. No one is interested in using the mic today, I guess. Okay, we will assume we have no additional questions. With that, we would like to conclude our call. If you have any follow-up questions, please reach out to us through our IR channels, or you could try and meet us in any of the upcoming events we are planning to participate, which are on the slide. Another question. From Yasser, from Alistithmar. What was the reason for the low gross margin in Q2 2026 compared to the previous quarters? I can answer that one. It is essentially the Hajj contribution. Hajj is the lowest margin segment, and since you have the Hajj revenue all coming in in Q2, it essentially led to the dilution of the margin for the quarter. If you isolate the hospitality and the commercial mall, you see that the commercial both had improvement in margins. Okay. We will give it another minute. We could have another typed-in question. Okay. I guess there are no other questions. I guess hopefully this is the third and final time. I would like to say thank you for attending our call. Please reach out for any follow-up or further additional questions. If you have the opportunity, please try to meet us in any of the upcoming events we are planning to attend, which are shown on the slide. With that, we will conclude the call, and thank you