Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519042
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 APRIL 2024 NEWS WT Global: Impressive profits, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 WT Global has seen impressive revenue levels over the years. Be- tween 2019 and 2020, the compa- ny grew its revenue by a whopping 493.9%. More recently, between 2021 and 2022, the company's turnover increased by 98%. Ac- cording to the company's financial report, its revenue comes from the provision of food delivery and taxi services, and the operation of a Floriana bar. The company also enjoys an impressively low cost of sales. In 2022, it only registered cost of sales worth only €10,913, resulting in a gross margin of 99.8%. How- ever, the bulk of the company's operating expenses come from its administrative costs, which to- talled to €4.4 million in 2022 and is largely attributed to labour costs and depreciation. The company's balance sheet also appears healthy, with €7.5 million in total assets and almost €5 million in current liabilities. However, in 2022, WT Global spent €1.5 million on salaries and wages, excluding directors' remu- neration. Yet in the same year, the company employed 423 full-time workers on average. Despite im- pressive turnovers and a low cost of sales, the accounts suggest that the average wage in the company is a mere €3,600 a year. Meanwhile, the social security and maternity payments appear to be in line with statutory rates, unlike the wages. To understand further, MaltaTo- day obtained a payslip belonging to a cab driver employed with WT Global. Here, the driver appears to receive €6 an hour before tax, and between €100-€150 in additional food and mobile allowances for a two-week period. An additional reimbursement is handed out for fuel payments. The payslip is issued by United Human Resources, an associate company of WT Global falling under the same parent company, owned by Libyan national Walid Ouhida. The financial accounts for this company also point to an average yearly salary of €4,390 for its workers. Walid himself made hefty pay- ments out of WT Global during the 2022 financial year. The direc- tor's current account, which sum- marises transactions between the director and the company, shot up drastically from €196,788 in 2021 to €2.7 million in the following year. The current account is "un- secured, interest free and has no fixed repayment date", indicating what is ultimately a very generous, interest-free loan to Walid. This loan is separate to the div- idend paid out to the immediate parent company, JWJ Invest- ments, of which Walid is the sole shareholder. In 2022, WT Global issued a dividend of €600,000. A life of luxury Walid Ouhida, the director and owner of WT Global, is an enigma. The 41-year-old Libyan national has had a presence in Malta since at least 2016 but was granted asy- lum in Malta in 2020. He's had several business en- deavours throughout the years but is now best known as the director of WT Global, which has been dominating the cab and food de- livery sectors. Walid resides in a St Paul's Bay flat, but his social media shows a life of luxury. His Facebook posts show him to be a frequent traveller and a regular visitor to many luxu- rious hotels. In one post from 2021, he is seen sporting Gucci shoes and Armani clothes at the Westin Dragonara Resort. In July 2022, he stayed at the Iniala Hotel's presidential suite and the Intercontinental Hotel, before heading off to the Le Royal Hotel in Luxembourg a month lat- er. He was also a guest in various luxurious hotel rooms in Zurich and Tunis. Walid celebrated the new year with a limited-edition bottle of champaign, as well as a gold-cov- ered steak from Caviar & Bull. Last August, he flaunted his new BMW M7, the number plate a nod to WT Global's parent company, JWJ Investment Group. Earlier this year, he was notified by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration to contact them immediately. This would typical- ly be the case for persons from whom the tax administration re- quests documents for the carrying out of tax audits or to notify with a tax assessment. The notice was published in the Government Ga- zette on 13 February. WT Global's massive influence within the cab sector WT Global is currently Malta's strongest player in the ride-hailing industry when it comes to the size of its fleet. As of last November, the company owned 269 Y-plate vehicles, distancing itself from the second-largest fleet by 119 vehi- cles. Information tabled in parliament last March shows that WT Global employs 62 drivers and has four garages, although the capacity of each garage is unknown. MaltaToday has found several of the company's vehicles parked ille- gally overnight in several locations, including St Paul's Bay, Marsaska- la and in supermarket parking fa- cilities. Last October, Transport Malta (TM) announced that fleet owners with more than five Y-plate vehi- cles require a commercial garage. Operators were given a 12-month window to abide by the regula- tions, with the window is set to expire in October. With only four garages and near- ly 270 vehicles, WT Global ap- plied to convert a Mosta carpenter workshop into a public service ga- rage. Walid Ouhida, the director and owner of WT Global