* Q4 net profit 716 mln dirhams vs 274 mln in Q4 2010
* Q4 revenue 2.24 billion dirhams, down 42 pct
* Strategy to up revenue from global ops, retail - chairman
(Adds analyst comment, details)
DUBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Emaar Properties,
builder of the world's tallest tower, more than doubled
quarterly profit thanks to sharply lower provisions and gains in
hospitality and retail units following a shift away from the
bleak Dubai property market.
Net profit was 716 million dirhams ($195 million) for the
fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 274 million a year before
and ahead of an average analyst forecast of 475.7 million in a
Reuters poll.
"The strong growth was mainly driven by the development
business but the performance of Emaar's hospitality segment also
surpassed our expectations by 15 percent in terms of quarterly
revenues," said Jan Pawel Hasman, associate vice president for
equity research at EFG-Hermes in Cairo.
Emaar, which had reported decling profit in each of the
previous four quarters, said revenue fell 42 percent to 2.24
billion dirhams in the fourth quarter.
The company booked impairments of 92 million dirhams in the
quarter against investment in Dubai Bank and deferred or stalled
projects, far below the 417 million dirham provision in the same
period in 2010.
Full-year net profit was 1.8 billion dirhams, down 27 percent
from 2.45 billion in 2010. Revenues fell 33 percent to 8.1
billion in 2011.
RETAIL, HOTELS UP
Emaar, which operates the Armani-branded hotels and owns the
mammoth Dubai Mall, said its retail business contributed 2.14
billion dirhams to annual revenue, up 13 percent. The
hospitality & leisure business contributed 1.22 billion.
Retail and hospitality together accounted for 41 percent of
2011 revenues. Sales from international operations also boosted
income, contributing 22 percent of total company revenues.
"Our strategy for 2012 is to further increase the share of
revenues from global operations and enhance the proportion of
profit from recurring revenue streams, including shopping malls
and retail and hospitality and leisure," said Mohamed Alabbar,
Emaar's chairman, in a statement.
Emaar's earnings bring further hope of stability to the
battered real estate sector in the United Arab Emirates, after
Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties also swung to profit on
Monday.
The real estate market in the UAE is slowly recovering after
prices plunged 60 percent from 2008 peaks. But house prices in
Dubai are expected to drop another 5 percent this year, a
Reuters poll showed last month.
Emaar said it handed over less than 1,000 real estate units
in 2011, of which only 350 were in Dubai, far below the 3,500
units delivered in the UAE and internationally in 2010.
Emaar's shares ended 1.4 percent higher on the Dubai bourse
before the earnings were announced.
Emaar is known to have about 3.75 billion dirhams of debt
maturing within this year, most of which will be in the first
half. Last year, it put up its prized asset, the Dubai Mall, to
secure a $1 billion loan as it looked to refinance the upcoming
debt amid difficult funding conditions.
Emaar's $500 mln 8.5 percent Islamic bond, or sukuk,
maturing 2016 was bid at 104.475 on Tuesday, to
yield 7.31 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The yield has fallen about 7 basis points since Monday, but
11 points since last week's close, indicating demand for the
bond.
($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)
(Editing by David Cowell)
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