Dubai's Emaar Ppties 2Q Net Pft -69%; Dubai Bank Stake Writeoff

Tuesday, Jul 26, 2011

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Dubai-based Emaar Properties (EMAAR.DFM) said Tuesday second quarter profit fell 69%, compared with a year ago, as it wrote off its entire 30% investment in Dubai Bank, the lender that was bailed out and taken over by the government earlier this year.

Emaar, in a statement posted on the Dubai Financial Market website, said net profit in the three month period amounted to 250 million U.A.E. dirhams ($68 million), down sharply from AED801.9 million in the year ago period.

The result was ahead of the AED184 million result predicted by analysts at Nomura but short of Shuaa Capital's AED265 million forecast. Cairo-based EFG Hermes had penciled in AED459 million.

In May, Dubai's government took full control of Dubai Bank, a local lender owned by an investment vehicle linked to the emirate's ruler, in order to keep the bank afloat and protect deposit holders. The value of Emaar's investment in Dubai Bank at the end of the first quarter stood at about AED172 million.

Emaar said net profit for the fist six months of the year was AED671 million, compared with AED1.56 billion a year ago. Earnings per share in the same period came in at AED0.11, compared with AED0.26.

Emaar shares closed trading Tuesday down 0.4% at AED2.88 in a positive overall market.

-By Tim Falconer, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1690; tim.falconer@dowjones.com