Emaar Malls Group, the retail unit of Emaar Properties, posted a 5 per cent increase in fourth-quarter net profit to Dh412 million last year from Dh394m, led by an increase in traffic to its flagship The Dubai Mall, the firm said.
For 2014, the Dubai-listed firm posted a 23 per cent increase in net profit to Dh1.35 billion from Dh1.1bn a year earlier. Revenue was up 13 per cent at Dh2.7bn compared with Dh2.4bn reached in 2013.
Revenue from The Dubail Mall accounted for 82 per cent of the total, which came in at Dh2.2bn, up by 12 per cent from 2013.
“The strong revenue growth recorded by Emaar Malls highlights Dubai’s clear emergence as the world’s premier shopping and leisure destination,” Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Malls and Emaar Properties, said in a statement.
“In addition to contributing about 5 per cent of Dubai’s GDP through retail sales at The Dubai Mall, our shopping mall assets created sustained positive economic impact by attracting international retail investments, creating thousands of new jobs and supporting the city’s hospitality and aviation sectors.”
Tenant sales across Emaar Malls’ portfolio were more than Dh18bn last year, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2013.
Total tenant sales in The Dubai Mall were Dh16bn last year, 14 per cent higher than the Dh14bn achieved in 2013.
Emaar Malls has a total gross leasable area (GLA) of about 6 million square feet and recorded a GLA occupancy rate of 95 per cent last year.
Emaar Malls is currently expanding The Dubai Mall’s Fashion Avenue by 1 million sq ft to have more stores.
Emaar Malls’ initial public offering last year raised Dh5.8bn by floating 15 per cent of its shares on the Dubai Financial Market.
dsaadi@thenational.ae
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