Emaar Properties Q1 net profit slumps 45%

Emaar Properties, UAE's biggest developer by market value, posted a 45 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, missing analysts forecasts, as revenue dipped and losses from associate firms rose.

The builder of the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, made a net profit of 421 million dirhams ($114.6 million), compared with a profit of 760 million dirhams in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement to the bourse on Sunday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the firm to post a quarterly profit of 647 million dirhams.

Quarterly revenue fell to 1.98 billion dirhams in the quarter, a drop of 31 percent in comparison to the same period last year, Emaar said.

Losses from associate companies, which includes mortgage affiliate Amlak, were 127 million dirhams for the first-quarter, the statement showed.

Emaar said that first-quarter results were supported by delivery of residential units in Burj Khalifa and the handover of commercial offices in The Eighth Gate in Syria.

"Emaar will continue to explore growth opportunities in key emerging markets," Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties said. It did not reveal how many units were handed over in Burj Khalifa during the first-quarter.

Shares of Emaar closed 1.4 percent lower on the Dubai bourse before the results were announced.

The company said it handed about 270 units during the quarter as compared to more than 1,300 and 1,000 units during the first and fourth-quarters of 2010 respectively.

Emaar reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter net profits, falling 62 percent, after impairments and provisions doubled.

House prices in Dubai are set to plummet another 10 percent before they stabilise, as new units are released onto a market awash with supply, a Reuters house poll showed.