Dubai developer Deyaar swings to loss in 2020

Despite the impact of Covid-19 the developer said construction of its projects continued in line with the scheduled timeline

Despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, Deyaar said it completed projects on time. Reem Mohammed/The National

Dubai-listed developer Deyaar swung to a loss in 2020 owing to higher impairments and fair value adjustments it had to factor in due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The developer posted a loss of Dh216.9 million ($59m) at the end of December, from a profit of Dh71.5m in 2019, the company said in a filing of its preliminary unaudited results to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

Revenue fell nearly 32 per cent to Dh412.8m in 2020 from the year-earlier period. Net operating profit fell 47 per cent to Dh24.5m in 2020 from the previous year.

"The year 2020 has witnessed big challenges as a result of the pandemic and its impacts on all sectors without exception," Saeed Al Qatami, chief executive of Deyaar, said.

The company's construction on projects continued, according to the scheduled timeline, he said. The company's Bella Rose project in Dubai Science Park was completed ahead of schedule and the handover of the units is underway.

"The biggest challenge we faced was in the hospitality sector, however we trust that the hospitality business [will] pick up and will return to grow again, especially with the efforts made by the government in taking all the precautionary measures while making great progress in the vaccination programme across the country," Mr Al Qatami said.

Established in 2002, Deyaar – in which Dubai Islamic Bank holds a majority stake – has developed projects in Dubai's Business Bay area, Dubai Marina, Al Barsha and Jumeirah Lake Tower, among others.

Deyaar, which delivered the first and the second phase of its Midtown project early last year, said it started the construction of the third and fourth phases of the project as well.

Last year, shareholders of Deyaar also approved a plan to restructure its capital to boost its finances and write off accumulated losses. It secured an approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority to reduce its capital to Dh4.55 billion from Dh5.78bn.