Business & Money | Thursday 20 October, 2016 1:49 am |

Nakheel today announced a net profit of AED3.91 billion for the first nine months of 2016 – an increase of 8.3 per cent on the profit of AED3.61 billion in the same period last year. The company recorded a net profit of AED955 million for third quarter of 2016 – 22 per cent up on Q3 2015 profit of AED781 million.

The growth in net profit reflects stable market conditions, said Nakheel.  As with previous results periods, Nakheel’s development business, with its ongoing handovers of properties to customers, and the company’s growing retail, leasing and leisure businesses all contributed to the results for the period ending 30 September 2016.

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 AED40 billion in expanding its retail, hospitality and residential leasing portfolios with a host of new projects under way that will further contribute to and strengthen its overall financial position. Nakheel has around 13 million sq ft of leasable space under development at new, 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.

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.

 

“The last nine months has seen a range of significant achievements for Nakheel, including the biggest milestone in our history: settling all of the AED4.4 billion of trade creditor sukuk that was due on 25 August 2016. 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.”