Dubai developer Union Properties swung to a profit in the third quarter. Pawan Singh / The National
Dubai developer Union Properties swung to a profit in the third quarter. Pawan Singh / The National
Dubai developer Union Properties swung to a profit in the third quarter. Pawan Singh / The National
Dubai developer Union Properties swung to a profit in the third quarter. Pawan Singh / The National

Union Properties swings to third-quarter profit on investment gains


Fareed Rahman
  • English
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Dubai developer Union Properties swung to a profit in the third quarter, following a turnaround strategy it employed to boost growth.

Net profit for the three-month period ending September 30 reached Dh509.2 million, compared to a loss of Dh81.5m during the same period last year, the company said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. The developer reported a Dh822m gain on fair valuation of investment properties during the period. Revenue from contracts with customers, however, dropped 15 per cent year-on-year to Dh90.5m.

“In the span of three months, we have restructured the bulk of our debt, substantially reduced our operating costs and reinstated our credit reputation," Khalifa Hasan Al Hammadi, chairman of Union Properties, said.

"Our major achievement has been without a doubt the successful restructuration of our balance sheet notably by integrating an unclaimed Gross Floor Area (GFA) owned by our group.”

The company, whose projects include Motor City and Uptown Mirdif, reached an agreement with Emirates NBD in August to restructure an outstanding debt of Dh946m. Union Properties also approved the sale of a 40 per cent stake in its subsidiary Dubai Autodrome for Dh400m last month.

“Now that we have cleaned as well as restructured our balance sheet…. all our focus will be on our operations and business development. We are dedicated to keep on with this positive momentum through transactions and projects that will add value for our shareholders,” Mr Al Hammadi, added.

During the nine-month period, the company reported a profit of Dh349m, compared to a loss of Dh164m during the same period last year as gain on fair valuation of investment properties climbed to Dh822m from Dh9.6m a year ago.

Total assets rose 5 per cent to Dh6.2 billion at the end of September, from Dh5.9bn at the end of December last year, the statement said. The company also said it “cleared all losses for 2019 as well as for the first and second quarter of 2020 and reduced its accumulated losses below the critical threshold of 50 per cent to 41.8 per cent”.

Union Properties is also planning to list three of its subsidiary companies – facilities management firm ServeU; The FitOut, which specialises in interior fit-outs of offices, hotels and restaurants, and Dubai Autodrome – on the Dubai Financial Market as it restructures its business.

Union Properties has built more than 60,000 units in recent years across a number of projects in Dubai.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

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The specs

BMW M8 Competition Coupe

Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8

Power 625hp at 6,000rpm

Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm

Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto

Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec

Top speed 305kph

Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km

Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)

On sale Jan/Feb 2020
 

Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.

If you go

The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.


The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.


The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.

Credits

Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5

World Sevens Series standing after Dubai

1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia

Top Hundred overseas picks

London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith 

Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah 

Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott

Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz

Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw

Trent Rockets: Colin Munro

Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson

Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged

Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic

Power: 445bhp

Torque: 530Nm

Price: Dh474,600

On Sale: Now

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets

Dolittle

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen

One-and-a-half out of five stars

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While you're here
The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

Tour de France 2017: Stage 5

Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160.5km

It is a shorter stage, but one that will lead to a brutal uphill finish. This is the third visit in six editions since it was introduced to the race in 2012. Reigning champion Chris Froome won that race.

MATCH INFO

Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')

Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')

Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)