DOHA: Dubai-based developer Emaar, which built the world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa, said yesterday its net profits rose sharply last year due to increased revenue in real estate, retail and hospitality.
Emaar Properties recorded annual net profits of 5.233bn dirhams ($1.425 bn) for 2016, up 28 percent from the previous year, it said in a statement. They were boosted by a particularly strong fourth quarter when net profits rose by 56 percent. The developer based in the UAE said its real estate sales in the emirate of Dubai increased by 41 percent last year compared to 2015.
“Emaar’s growth reflects the dynamism of the UAE, which has evolved as a global hub for business and leisure,” Emaar chairman Mohamed Al-Abbar said. Dubai first became a magnet for property investments when it opened the sector to foreigners in 2002, standing out in a region that largely confines freehold ownership to citizens. The value of property surged until the global financial crisis hit the debt-laden emirate in 2009, sending prices into free-fall.
A recovery led by tourism, trade and transportation pushed prices up again between 2012 and 2014.
But Dubai’s real estate sector again slowed down in recent years, with residential prices dropping around 12 percent in 2015 before slowly starting to climb in 2016.
