Rising visitor numbers boost Emaar Malls first-quarter profit by 32%

Analysts say that although the number of Russian visitors had fallen over the period, the company was likely to have benefited from an influx of Saudi shoppers.

Visitors to Emaar Malls's shopping centres rose by 7 per cent to 31 million. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

First-quarter profit at Emaar Malls, operator of The Dubai Mall, rose by a third on an annual basis on the back of a 7 per cent jump in visitor numbers to its shopping centres to 31 million.

Net profit for the first three months of 2015 stood at Dh433 million, up about 32 per cent compared with the Dh329m recorded a year ago, Emaar Malls said in a statement to the Dubai bourse yesterday.

Revenue increased more than 21 per cent over the year to stand at Dh735m, up from Dh605m.

The company which floated last year but remains majority owned by the Dubai developer Emaar, said that total sales by all of its tenants across its portfolio stood at Dh5.2 billion for the period, with Dh4.6bn coming from The Dubai Mall – a similar level to the same period the previous year. This equated to Dh5,015 per square foot of leasable area.

"Emaar Malls is now focused on its next level of growth through aggressive expansion in Dubai and international markets," said Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Malls and Emaar Properties.

Analysts pointed out that although the number of Russian visitors had fallen over the period, the company was likely to have benefited from an influx of Saudi shoppers, who in January received a bonus worth an extra two months’ salary on the occasion of the accession of the new king.

The results, which were published after trading closed on the DFM yesterady, did not affect the Emaar Malls share price which fell marginally to close at Dh3.17.

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