Amlak Finance reported a third quarter plunge in profits as the Islamic home finance company made less money from land sales.
Now the property financier that was hit hard by the 2008 collapse in real estate prices and the ensuing global financial crisis has embarked on a cost cutting drive.
The Dubai-based company said third quarter profit fell to Dh5.6m from Dh55.4 million a year earlier, in a stock exchange filing.
Amlak said it had experienced “some volatility” in the period because substantial revenues generated from land plot sales earlier in the year had not continued at the same pace.
“We started the year on a strong note with Q1 showing significant profits generated from real estate investment portfolio particularly from the sale of land plots,” said chief executive Arif Alharmi. “However, Q2 proved to be somewhat challenging as we had to prudently take higher provisions to maintain a healthy balance sheet.”
Amlak and rival Islamic home finance company Tamweel were among the most active of lenders during the boom years of the emirate’s property market that unravelled in late 2008.
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