Nakheel’s Q1 Profit Up 28% To Dhs629m

Dubai developer Nakheel posted a net profit of Dhs629 million in the first quarter of the year, up 28 per cent compared to Dhs491 million in Q1 2013, it announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The firm made revenues of Dhs1.37 billion in the first three months of the year.

The government-owned company, which was forced to undergo a restructuring in 2011, has begun paying off debts in advance following a strong performance last year. Nakheel reported a 27 per cent rise in 2013 net profit to Dhs2.57 billion, with revenues up 20 per cent.

In January this year, the developer announced that it would prepay Dhs4 billion out of the Dhs6.8 billion bank debt due to be repaid in September 2015. In February, the developer revealed that it had paid off Dhs2.35 billion.

Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “We are well on course to further reduce our bank debt during 2014, having already paid off a substantial amount of Dhs2.35 billion a year and a half before it was due.”

During the first quarter of the year, Nakheel handed over 400 units in Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan, International City, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park and Jumeirah Heights residential developments.

The company said for the remainder of 2014, it plans to handover around 1,200 units, enhance existing communities and continue investment in new projects.

The developer will also complete Palma Residences on Palm Jumeirah – its first project to be announced post-restructuring – as well as its 1.9 million sq ft expansion of Dragon Mart and community retail centres at Jumeirah Park and Discovery Gardens.

Nakheel has rebounded sharply in the last year, as Dubai’s property market returns to its boom days. In the past few months, the developer has announced a number of new residential, retail and hospitality projects, including the recent launch of 94 plots for sale in its new Deira Islands project.