Emaar posts Dh250m Q2 profit

Emaar Properties, UAE's largest developer by market value, reported a 69-per cent plunge in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday, missing estimates, as it handed over fewer homes and wrote off its investments in Dubai Bank.

The builder of the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, made a net profit of Dh250 million ($68.1 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of Dh801.9 million in the same period a year ago.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the firm to post a quarterly net profit of Dh358.18 million.

Emaar handed over around 244 units during the second quarter, down from 612 units in the same period last year, it said in a statement on Dubai's bourse website.

This was also down from 270 handed over in the first quarter of this year.

Emaar, which has set up a core team for a strategic review of its operations, said revenues in the second quarter fell to Dh2.03 billion, a drop of 23 per cent.

The developer wrote off its investment in Dubai Bank, valued at Dh172 million it said in the statement. Dubai government announced in May that it would take over the troubled lender.

Net profit for the first six months of 2011 fell 49 per cent to Dh843 million, Emaar said.

Emaar's shares closed 0.3 per cent lower on the Dubai bourse before the results were announced. The shares have fallen 19 per cent year-to-date.

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