Damac H1 net profit hits $435m; booked sales top $1bn
Damac Properties Dubai Company, a leading property developer in the Middle East, has announced a total revenue of Dh3.5 billion ($953 million) and a net profit of Dh1.6 billion ($435.61 million) for the first half of this year. As of June 30, 2017, Damac’s booked sales for H1 stood at Dh4 billion ($1.089 billion), and it delivered 1,071 units in Damac Hills, Dubai. Total cash and bank balances stood at Dh8.6 billion ($2.34 billion), while earnings per share for H1 came to Dh0.26. Gross debt stood at Dh5.4 billion ($1.54 billion). “The property market in Dubai continues to demonstrate further stabilisation, and our medium to long term outlook remains positive as Damac continues to develop innovative products that appeal to both end users and investors,” said Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Properties. “Damac’s strong H1 sales performance can be attributed to continued demand for a number of our projects including Aykon City, Damac Hills and Akoya Oxygen,” he said. An additional 1,071 units were delivered at its Damac Hills master development in H1 2017, bringing the total number of delivered units there to over 3,100. In February, Damac celebrated its flagship golf development with the opening of the Trump International Golf Club Dubai, the first of its kind in the Middle East, offering world-class golfing on an 18-hole championship course and exquisite leisure, dining and entertainment experiences, the company said.
Construction continues on circa 5,000 villas at its Akoya Oxygen master community in Dubailand, with a further 1,300 villas scheduled to begin construction in September 2017. Akoya Oxygen includes contemporary residential properties of various sizes surrounding an 18-hole championship golf course, along with an organic produce market, hydroponic café, luxury wellness centre, outdoor yoga enclave and retail outlets featuring well-known brands. Construction is almost complete on the Damac Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts, a four-tower, 250-m high development consisting over 2,000 units, and includes a luxury hotel and serviced branded residences in Business Bay. Progress on the award-winning Damac Heights, an 86-floor tower with uninterrupted views of the sea and Palm Jumeirah is also nearing completion.
“Thanks to Dubai’s visionary leadership and the government’s successful efforts in attracting investors and visitors, Dubai continues to show economic growth in spite of the turbulence seen in 2016 with the drop in oil prices and sluggish global trade. GDP growth continues to remain positive at 2.85 percent in 2016 and Dubai remains one of the most popular destinations for global travellers, attracting over 8 million visitors in H1 2017, compared to 7.3 million for the same period last year, according to DTCM,” said Sajwani.
“This growth also reflects on Dubai’s real estate sector which according the Dubai Land Department, saw property transactions in H1 2017 of Dh132 billion, a sizable gain over Dh113 billion during H1 2016. We are optimistic that the sector will continue to sustain this growth through the remainder of the year,” he said. “We would like to thank everyone who has made the first six months of 2017 a success, especially our employees and business partners for their tremendous effort and commitment,” added Sajwani.
