Dubai Developer Emaar’s Villa Sales Drop In Q1

Dubai’s Emaar Properties said on Thursday that its revenue from villa sales dropped by nearly 17 per cent in the first quarter of the year, as it extracted more income from malls and hotels instead.

The builder of the world’s tallest tower generated revenue of Dhs256.91 million ($69.94 million) from sales of villas in the first quarter compared to Dhs308.73 million in the corresponding period in 2013, a detailed earnings statement released on Thursday showed.

However, the decline was partly offset by an increase in revenue from its hospitality and rental portfolio.

Revenue from sales of apartment blocks, commercial units and land rose by just 2.9 per cent year-on-year to Dhs653 million.

Emaar reported a 55 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit in April, on the back of growing revenue from its malls and hospitality business.

The developer diversified out of property sales after Dubai’s housing market prices slumped by more than half from a 2008 peak when the emirate’s building boom went bust.

The company plans to spin off and sell 25 per cent of Emaar Malls Group through a public offering likely to take place in London and Dubai later this year.

The cost of revenue from property sales in the quarter dropped to Dhs815.16 million from Dhs993.18 million a year ago.