Dubai-based developer Nakheel reported a net profit of $1.06bn (AED3.9bn) for the first nine months of this year, up 8.3%, compared to $982m (AED3.6bn) for the same period last year.
Net profit for the third quarter of the year was reported at $260m (AED955m), up 22%, as compared to a net profit of $213m (AED781m) last year.
Nakheel said in a statement: “The results were on expected lines, and reflected stable market conditions. As with previous results, our development business, with its ongoing handovers of properties to customers, and the company’s growing retail, leasing and leisure businesses all contributed to it.”
On the performance, Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah, said: “The growth in our net profit for the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 is a sign of a stable and mature local real estate market. The results also reflect positively on our business strategy to invest in our income-generating asset portfolio.
“We expect to further consolidate on our position and finish the year on an even stronger note.”
Nakheel currently has more than 2,300 units at various development projects under construction, including 934 units nearing completion at the new Warsan Village community.
It is also investing around $11bn (AED40bn) in expanding its retail, hospitality, and residential leasing portfolios with a host of new projects underway that will further contribute to and strengthen its overall financial position.
Nakheel has around 120ha of leasable space under development at large-scale retail projects across Dubai, while its hospitality portfolio comprises 16 hotels and serviced apartment complexes with over 5,200 rooms between them.
The company is also doubling its residential leasing stock by adding over 18,000 new units to its portfolio.
Lootah said: “The last nine months has seen a range of significant achievements for Nakheel, including the biggest milestone in our history: settling all of the $1.2bn (AED4.4bn) of trade creditor sukuk, that was due on 25 August. This was the last outstanding obligation from the financial restructuring concluded in August 2011.
“We thank the Government of Dubai, without whom this milestone would not have been possible, for its ongoing support. With the restructuring behind us, we can now operate with more flexibility to achieve our business and financial objectives.”
