Aldar Properties is looking at expanding into Egypt and Saudi Arabia as Abu Dhabi's largest developer reported a 5 per cent jump in its second quarter net profit on the back of strong sales.
“We are continuing to assess opportunities in both, as and when relevant transactions materialises, we should update the market,” said Aldar’s chief financial officer Greg Fewer in an earnings call with the media on Thursday. “Each of those places are very interesting, very dynamic and very different real estate markets,” he added, without divulging further details.
Aldar Properties, behind mega projects such as the Formula One race circuit on Yas Island, on Thursday said second quarter net profit attributable to the owners of the company jumped 5.4 per cent to Dh470.4 million from the year earlier period. The rise in net profit was in line with an estimate by investment bank EFG Hermes.
The biggest listed developer in Abu Dhabi saw revenue in the second quarter climb 10 per cent to Dh1.66 billion, boosted by rising sales and strong development activity. The company's stock price is up 42 per cent so far this year, outperforming the general market and other listed UAE real estate developers.
“There is an upswing in sentiment towards Abu Dhabi's real estate market with the recent announcement of our Dh9bn worth of development projects since the start of 2019,” said Talal Al Dhiyebi, chief executive of Aldar Properties. “Those, coupled with government initiatives to spur economic growth, are having a positive multiplier effect on the wider Abu Dhabi economy and stirring confidence.”
Revenue in the first six months of the year surged 15 per cent to Dh3.4bn from the same period a year earlier. Profit for the first half of the year, however, dipped 8 per cent to Dh1.02bn from the year earlier period.
Off-plan development sales in the first half of the year surged 78 per cent to Dh1.9bn compared with the same period a year ago, the company said. Second quarter off-plan sales increased year-on-year 129 per cent to Dh853m, primarily driven by the successful launches of Lea and Alreeman II, as well as sales on existing projects under development including Yas Acres.
“We are a market that is benefiting from fiscal stimulus and we are seeing benefit of that stimulus materialising in our numbers and in our portfolio,” Mr Fewer said.
“There is a stimulus programme of both Adnoc capex programme as well as Ghadan 21. We are seeing that benefit in improving investors sentiment, is reflected in our off plan sales growth year-on-year. And our commercial occupancy remains strong with 92 per cent.”
Abu Dhabi's government is currently implementing Ghadan 21, the three-year Dh50bn stimulus plan to boost economy growth and improve standards of living. The government also introduced freehold titles for foreign buyers within investment zones in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, which is expected to have a positive impact on the real estate sector.
Occupancy across Aldar’s investment property portfolio which includes retail, residential and commercial units, remained resilient at 90 per cent, with the hospitality portfolio recording 77 per cent occupancy in the first half of 2019.
In July, Aldar was awarded contracts worth Dh5bn from multiple Abu Dhabi government entities to deliver three projects in the capital as the emirate continues to spend on infrastructure and economic development schemes.
The asset management division of Aldar also acquired full ownership of Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre in March.
The Abu Dhabi-based developer is planning to launch new projects in the second half of this year to carter to the demand of mid-market segment and upper mid segment, Mr Fewer added.
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: JoeMoufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
