After Dubai, UAE mega-developer Aldar wants to expand reach into Europe
Abu Dhabi powerhouse sees 9M-23 net profit hit Dh3 billion - that's 41% up
Dubai: Even as it launched a first project in Dubai, the UAE master-developer Aldar has pulled out a solid run of results for the first nine months, with net profit weighing in with Dh3 billion. That’s a hefty 41 per cent gain over the same time last year.
That’s built around revenues of Dh9.8 billion, with a solid 21 per cent gain year-on-year for the period. While much of it continues to be derived from Abu Dhabi launches, Aldar is expanding that base into new markets, adding Dubai after its recent acquisitions/launches in Ras Al Khaimah. Plus, its Egypt entity, SODIC, continues to support Aldar with the right set of numbers. (SODIC sales were Dh1.4 billion in Q3-23 and Dh2.4 billion in the year to end September.)
In early trade Monday (October 30) on ADX, the stock is up 1.63 per cent to Dh4.98.
Ambitions for Europe
“Taking the next step in our growth trajectory, Aldar has devised a new strategy to take our expertise into select international markets, with a particular focus on Europe, which will allow us to build scale, diversify, and deliver sustainable growth,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman.
"We aim to target investments that are core to our current operations and across high-growth real estate sectors in mature markets that are characterised by strong fundamentals, demographic shifts, digitized economies, and evolving consumer preferences", Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman.
All this while Aldar keeps scoring heavily in Abu Dhabi, with a steady round of offplan launches. And the office portfolio is also contributing its might.
We see this as an opportune moment to tap emerging trends and also to leverage new relationships to bring investment and innovation back to our core market, the UAE.
If not that, then strike joint ventures with potential partners, as was done in Dubai (through an association with Dubai Holding).
All this according to Faisal Falaknaz, the master-developer’s Chief Financial Officer, while detailing Aldar’s year-to-September numbers. “We will be looking at Europe for alternate real estate allocations, whether that’s in logistics, student housing and the like,” the CFO said.
This growth plan is in line with the strategy we adopted three years ago, which is to diversify the sectors we are in and also on the geographies.
On the development side, sales closed the third quarter with Dh7.8 billion, and adding up to a 9-month total of a 'record' Dh19.4 billion. (There have been 11 new project launches year-to-date.)
Its UAE revenue backlog as of end September was Dh23.6 billion, a substantial 95 per cent year-on-year rise and with an average duration of 29 months, while Q3 cash collections were Dh1.7 billion. That would please shareholders to a good extent.
Growing overseas buyer base
"The increasing interest from international buyers in our developments not only highlights the global appeal of Aldar’s offering but also reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s position as a preferred destination for business, leisure, and long-term residency," said Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group CEO.
And those buyer numbers are impressive - sales to overseas and expat buyers in the UAE were at a new high of Dh5.1 billion in Q3-2023 (and Dh 10.3 billion (60% of total UAE sales) for first nine months). This was 160 per cent and 333 per cent higher, respectively, and 'further growth is anticipated as Aldar expands its footprint into Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah'.
Our investment properties - particularly our thriving commercial portfolio - consistently exhibit solid operational
performance and we are really seeing the positive impact of recent acquisitions across the office, retail, and hospitality sectors