Emaar Properties profit rises 7 pct

DUBAI, May 3, (RTRS): Dubai’s Emaar Properties, builder of the world’s tallest tower, reported a 7 percent increase in first-quarter net profit on Sunday, extending a run of profits as it sold $672 million in property in its home market and mall revenue rose.

The developer, in which Dubai’s government owns a minority stake, made a net profit of 1.03 billion dirhams ($280.4 million) in the three months to March 31, Emaar said in a statement.

A year earlier, its profit was 957 million dirhams. Emaar has now reported rising profits in eight successive quarters.

The result exceeded a forecast by SICO Bahrain for first-quarter profit of 856.8 million dirhams.

“The sustained growth in net profit and revenue is supported by the increase in recurring revenues from the group’s shopping malls, retail and hospitality businesses,” Emaar said.

Its quarterly revenue rose to 3.01 billion dirhams from 2.39 billion a year earlier. The company sold 2.45 billion dirhams worth of property in Dubai in the quarter, and its property division’s quarterly revenue was 1.49 billion. It did not provide comparative figures for the year-ago quarter.

Emaar’s hospitality and leisure business generated 495 million dirhams in revenue in the first quarter, which it described as similar to a year ago.

Emaar Malls, in which Emaar floated a 15.4 percent stake in September, reported a 32 percent rise in first-quarter profit last week, with revenue up 21 percent. Emaar’s international operations provided 11 percent, or 346 million dirhams, of the group’s quarterly revenue.