Dubai: Nakheel chalked out an 8.3 per cent increase in net profits for the first nine months of the year to total Dh3.91 billion against the Dh3.61 billion last year. For the third quarter alone, the figure was Dh955 million, up a sizable 22 per cent on Q3-15’s Dh781 million.
“The results reflect positively on our business strategy to invest in our income-generating asset portfolio,” said Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman, in a statement. “We expect to further consolidate on our position and finish the year on an even stronger note.” Incidentally, this is the first third-quarter results announced by a local developer for the third quarter.
The leasing portfolio will continue to keep the master-developer busy for quite a while yet - it currently has 13 million square feet under development across retail-oriented projects. The hospitality component will be adding 5,200 rooms across the 16 hotel and serviced apartment properties, currently under development. On the residential side, its leasing assets will double to 18,000 units in the medium term.
The combined investments on the leasing portfolio is estimated at Dh40 billion.
The Chairman recently confirmed that Nakheel will complete the full year showing growth on its numbers. Going forward, the first-half of next year should see the sales launches of two its twin-tower projects - the Palm 360 (on the Palm Jumeirah) and Ibn Battuta Residences (part of the mixed-use cluster bearing the same name). Another skyscraper project, the Palm Tower, is already in development mode.
Nakheel currently has more than 2,300 units in various projects under construction, including 934 units nearing completion at the Warsan Village community.
As for its financials: “The last nine months has seen a range of significant achievements for Nakheel, including the biggest milestone in our history: settling all of the Dh4.4 billion of trade creditor sukuk that was due on 25 August,” said Lootah. “This was the last outstanding obligation from the financial restructuring concluded in August 2011.”
According to market sources, it remains to be seen whether most of the other developers getting ready to announce their results will be able to report the growth rates Nakheel has had. With the exceptions of Emaar and Aldar, many of them do not have the leasing portfolio and thus are overly reliant on sales transactions. Given that the third quarter is traditionally the weak one, it would have some impact on the growth numbers, and more so in a soft market.
