Emaar Development’s Q3 profit rises on sale of units

Emaar Development, a unit of Dubai’s biggest listed real estate company Emaar Properties, reported a 19 per cent increase in net profit in the first nine months of the year thanks to unit sales.

The company’s net profit in the nine months ending September 30 rose to Dh2.5 billion from a year earlier, it said in statement yesterday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded. Revenue grew 54 per cent year-on-year to Dh10bn during the period.

The company posted a net profit of Dh682 million for the third quarter and revenue of Dh3bn, which missed the median estimate of Dh3.5bn of three analysts polled by Bloomberg. Emaar Development did not provide comparative figures for net profit and revenue in the third quarter of last year.

“The strong performance of Emaar Development underlines the strength of Dubai’s property sector, driven by the robust economic fundamentals of the nation,” said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Development and Emaar Properties.

Emaar Development listed on the DFM in November last year, raising Dh4.82bn through the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the real estate development unit of Emaar Properties.

The initial public offering was the first to take place on the DFM since 2014, and the third largest ever on the Dubai exchange.

The property unit’s total sales backlog reached Dh38.53bn at the end of September and will be recognised as revenue in the next three to four years.

The company, which delivered more than 4,150 residential units in Dubai over the first nine months of this year, will continue to hand over “significant” units over the coming quarters, it said.

Emaar Development’s general assembly meeting last month approved the distribution of Dh1.04bn as special cash dividend to the company’s shareholders.

Emaar Malls, a unit of Emaar Properties, posted a 10 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit to Dh537m thanks to a rise in traffic to its outlets.

The company’s net profit in the nine months ending September 30 rose to Dh2.5 billion from a year earlier