Nakheel 9-month profit nearly doubles

Dubai's property developer Nakheel said on Sunday that net profit for the first nine months of the year nearly doubled, helped by property handovers and growing business in its retail and leasing segment.

Net profit for the nine months ended September 30 was Dh1.1 billion ($299.5 million), up from Dh600 million in the year-ago period, Nakheel said in a statement sent by email. The company did not provide any quarterly numbers.

Revenue for the nine months rose to Dh4.5 billion from Dh2 billion in the prior-year period.

Nakheel, builder of man-made islands in the shape of palms and a map of the world, said about 4,000 units had been delivered to customers since the start of its restructuring in August 2011.

The company, brought under direct government control as part of the restructuring of its parent Dubai World, said it had made cash payments of about Dh9.4 billion to trade creditors as part of a $16 billion debt restructuring plan agreed last year.