Dar Al-Arkan second quarter net profit up 17%, misses forecasts

Dubai: Dar Al-Arkan, Saudi Arabia’s largest real estate developer by market value, reported a 17 per cent rise in second-quarter net income on Sunday but widely missed analysts’ forecasts.

Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 121.3 million riyals (Dh119 million, $32.3 million) compared to 103.7 million in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

It attributed the rise to higher sales of properties at higher profit margins. It said higher non-operating income was offset by increases in payrolls, consultancy fees and higher finance charges.

Six analysts polled by Reuters had forecast, on average, that Dar Al-Arkan would record net profit of 209.8 million riyals in the quarter.

In May, the developer raised $400 million through an Islamic bond, with strong demand for the paper helping to reduce the cost at which it borrowed to 6.5 per cent.