Emaar Malls announces net profit of $300m during H1 2018
Results are an 8% increase from the $278m registered in 2017
Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business of Emaar Properties, has registered a net profit of $300 million during the first half of 2018, up by 8% from the $278 million registered last year.
In an announcement about the results for the first six months of the year, Emaar Malls said that revenue for H1 2018 was up by 29% to $573 million, compared to $422 million in 2017. During the second quarter of the year (April to June), the business recorded a net profit of $151 million, which was 15% higher than the Q2 net profit of $131 million in 2017.
Revenue in Q2 was $290 millon, 35% higher than the $215 million posted in Q2 2017.
Earlier this year, Emaar Malls said that it had distributed a cash dividend of $354 million, which is equivalent to 10% of share capital to shareholders for the third consecutive year. It said that this underlined its focus on sustained value creation.
The division has inaugurated the expansion of the Dubai Mall Fashion Avenue, which has added more than 150 international brands, as well as the Springs Souk – a community centre with a range of leisure attractions.
These have added a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 850,000sqft, bringing Emaar Mall’s total GLA in Dubai to more than 6.7 million square feet. The occupancy across all the assets of Emaar Malls was 93% during H1 2018, it added.
In the statement, the developer said that its assets welcomed 67 million visitors during the first half of the year, which was a 3% increase from the previous year. Dubai Mall alone accounted for 40 million visitors, driven by year-round activities, including popular festivals that marked the Chinese New Year, it added.
Reflecting the success of Emaar Malls’ investment in tech-retail platforms, Namshi, which was acquired in August 2017, recorded online sales of over $105 million in the first half of 2018, an increase of 22% over the same period last year, it added.
“In a short span of time, Emaar Malls has underlined its strength in delivering world-class retail destinations that meet the aspirations of both UAE residents and tourists,” said Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar Properties chairman.
“We are now taking the Emaar Malls growth story to the next level with a firmer focus on omnichannel retailing and the creation of iconic new destinations that will reshape retail dynamics,” remarked Alabbar, who is also the board member of Emaar Malls.
“Designed for the next generation and leveraging future technologies, these malls will bring the timeless charm of the city squares in a high-tech environment,” he added.
Emaar’s next-era retail destinations include the upcoming new retail precinct in Dubai Creek Harbour, the vibrant six square kilometre mega-development by the historic Creek and overlooking the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. Adjacent to Dubai Creek Tower is Dubai Square, which in its totality represents a 2.6-million sqm retail, hospitality and residential district for the future.
It is equivalent to the size of more than 100 football pitches – with over 750,000 sqm of gross floor retail space. Emaar has said that the project is ‘designed for a new era of customers, digital, connected and tech-savvy, and setting a benchmark for retail experiences in the 21st century’.
The Dubai Hills Mall in Dubai Hills Estate is another key development with its construction progressing as per schedule. Once ready, it would boast a GLA of about 2 million sqft and would feature about 650 retail outlets including ‘fast fashion’ retail stores, restaurants and cafés. It will have four major family entertainment and leisure centres as well as a cineplex, hypermarket, seven anchor retail experience stores, and dedicated parking spaces for over 7,000 vehicles.
In other significant expansion, work on The Dubai Mall’s Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard expansion that will link to both Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard as well as its Fountain Views and Zabeel expansions of the mall has commenced.
