Dubai developer Damac Properties, contractor Arabtec Q2 profits drop

Dubai property developer Damac Properties reported a nearly 87 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, hurt by the emirate’s slumping property market.

Damac, owner and operator of the only Trump-branded golf club in the Middle East, said in a statement its net profit in the three months ended June 30 fell to Dhs50.6m ($13.78m) from Dhs378.2m a year ago.

The results still beat analyst expectations from regional investment bank EFG-Hermes, which expected the developer to report a profit of Dhs37m.

Revenue fell 45.7 per cent to Dhs971.1m.

Dubai property prices have fallen since a mid-2014 peak, hurt by weaker oil prices and muted sales.

In a separate disclosure, Dubai-listed contractor Arabtec Holding reported a 47.2 per cent drop in net profit for the second quarter to Dhs26.1m.

Revenue declined to Dhs2.19bn in the quarter, compared with Dhs2.39bn in the same period a year earlier.

S&P Global Ratings expects the downturn to continue this year, with residential property prices falling another 5 per cent-10 per cent due to a continued gap between supply and demand, before steadying in 2020.