Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer, reported a 37 per cent jump in its third-quarter profit as revenue grew on the back of higher property sales.
Net profit attributable to equity holders of the company for three months to the end of September rose to Dh1 billion ($272 million), the company said in a statement on Tuesday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Revenue and rental income for the period rose more than 61 per cent annually to Dh5.58 billion. Total property sales during the quarter rose 27 per cent annually to about Dh10 billion, with UAE sales increasing 13 per cent to Dh7.3 billion.
“Aldar’s success has been driven by the UAE’s robust domestic investment climate and its ability to attract international capital and businesses,” said Mohamed Al Mubarak, chairman of Aldar Properties.
“This favourable environment has enabled us to scale rapidly, balancing the expansion of recurring income streams with record development sales, while strategically reinvesting capital into new opportunities and securing partnerships that will drive further scale and value for both Aldar and Abu Dhabi.”
The company plans to look into launching new projects and is “very much on track” to achieve its sales target for the year amid higher demand from buyers, Aldar's chief financial and sustainability officer said.
“We've done Dh24 billion of sales year to date, compared to around Dh20 billion [during the same period] last year, so it's up around 24 per cent,” Faisal Falaknaz said.
“Our guidance for the year is to cross the Dh30 to Dh32 billion mark, and we are very much on track to deliver on that target. We have a number of launches coming up before the end of the year. So things are looking very positive.”
The launches planned include the Al Fahid Island master plan, an ultra-luxury beachfront mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi and a new master plan in Dubai. Aldar also aims to “replenish our land bank” in Ras Al Khaimah to start new projects.
“One area that we are very keen in terms of introducing is a more mid-market, affordable offering at scale so that we can accommodate the demand of the market with the huge growth in population that we're seeing here,” Mr Falaknaz said.
There has been a growing demand for affordable homes in Dubai as more people settle down for longer in the city and opt to own a home amid rising rents.
Several new developers are launching new projects catering to middle-income earners with a monthly salary of between Dh10,000 and Dh25,000.
Earlier this month, Aldar announced a partnership with Expo City Dubai for a Dh1.75 billion mixed-use six-building development as part of the new master plan for the area, which hosted the Expo 2020 Dubai and last year's Cop28 climate talks.
As part of the partnership, Aldar and Expo City Dubai have established a joint venture to deliver and own the development, which will include residential, office, and retail spaces with a combined floor area of 103,000 square metres.
Last month, it also unveiled a new partnership with Mubadala Investment Company to establish four joint ventures to own and manage real estate assets worth more than Dh30 billion across Abu Dhabi.
Aldar is also investing Dh1.5 billion to transform its hotel portfolio amid a boom in the UAE’s tourism sector.
“An expanding land bank and newly formed strategic partnerships with Mubadala and Expo City Dubai are creating exciting new avenues for growth, enabling us to expand our presence across key segments and geographies,” Talal Al Dhiyebi, group chief executive of Aldar, said.
“We are extremely confident that we will maintain our current growth trajectory in the coming years.”
