Emaar Properties, a Dubai-based regional real-estate development firm, announced half-yearly profits of 280 million Emirati dirhams ($76.23 million) for the first six months of 2002. After accounting for pre-operating expenses of newly set-up fully owned subsidiaries such as Dubai Bank, Emrill and a technology services company along with other expense provisions, the net half-yearly profit will be Dh240 million.
The company's performance marks a growth in profit of about 50 percent over the similar accounting period last year. During the same time, interest earned from fixed deposits with banks was reduced to about a third.
“The real-estate market in Dubai is on a high-growth curve, driven by huge customer demand. During the first half of 2002 we launched two new residential projects; Meadows (formerly known as PA 2) villa development at Emirates Hills and The Greens apartment project overlooking Emirates Golf Club, both of which have received a huge response from UAE national and expatriate investors,” Emaar Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar said.
Emaar Properties, is a Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) launched in 1997 with a record Initial Public Offering (IPO) of one billion Dh. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market, it has already generated over Dh1.2 billion in profits. It has some 42,000 United Arab Emirates (UAE) national shareholders, with the government of Dubai as its largest shareholder,. In 1999 the company posted distributable profits of Dh200 million, followed by Dh348 million and Dh449 million in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
In the first half of 2002, the company announced the launch of Dubai Bank, its most recent subsidiary. The new institution, which is chaired by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, is scheduled to commence full-scale operations next month.
Emaar also launched Emrill, a joint venture with the UK-based Carillion plc, providing property and facilities management services. Another fully owned subsidiary of Emaar is Amlak Finance, which is the UAE's first and only mortgage finance company. Finally, a new technology services company has commenced operations and will be formally launched shortly. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
