Dubai: Emaar Malls, the Dubai-bourse listed shopping mall and retail arm of Emaar Properties, posted on Wednesday a 32 per cent increase in first quarter profit. Emaar Malls made Dh433 million in the first three months of the year ending March 31 compared with the Dh329 million it made a year earlier, according to an emailed statement.
Revenue was Dh735 million, up 21 per cent compared to the Dh605 million a year earlier.
“The robust performance of Emaar Malls assets in Dubai during the first quarter was led by the positive growth of the city’s retail sector, which was catalysed by the Dubai Shopping Festival, the growth in tourism and round-the-year activation initiatives in The Dubai Mall,” stated Mohammad Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Malls and Emaar Properties.
The Dubai Mall, Emaar Malls’ flagship, contributed the largest single sum of tenant sales, Dh4.6 billion. Total tenant sales were “over Dh5.2 billion.” The tenant sales were Dh5,015 per square foot of leasable, “marginally higher compared to the same period in 2014,” Emaar Malls said. Base rent renewal rates for leases were up 26 per cent compared to the first quarter 2014.
Emaar Malls shares closed down 0.94 per cent to Dh3.17 on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Wednesday.
