Dubai’s Nakheel reports 5% profit increase despite fewer handovers

Dubai developer Nakheel reported a 5 per cent increase in first quarter net profit on Wednesday while handing over fewer than half the number of units it did a year earlier.

Dubai’s residential property market is showing few signs of rebounding from a three-year downturn caused by modest demand and increasing supply from new developments.

Read: Dubai real estate slump to continue for another two years – S&P

Net profit for the January-March quarter rose to Dhs1.55bn ($422m) from Dhs1.48bn, the state-owned developer said in a statement.

The developer of Dubai’s palm-shaped islands, which did not disclose its revenue for the period, said the quarterly profit was in line with its own forecasts.

Read: Dubai’s Nakheel awards $1.14bn contract for ‘Middle East’s largest mall’

Nakheel handed over almost 200 land and built form units to customers, down from 412 a year earlier, it said.

Retail, hospitality and residential leasing businesses “continued to perform robustly”, the company said.

Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah told Reuters this month the developer expects to build more shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates outside its Dubai base following a recent agreement in neighbouring Sharjah.

Read: Developer Nakheel plans new malls outside of Dubai