DUBAI- Dubai's largest listed developer Emaar Properties suffered a 1.7% dip in its net profit in the fourth quarter, Reuters calculations showed after annual figures were reported on Wednesday.

Emaar is behind many of Dubai's major developments, including mega shopping centre Dubai Mall and the surrounding residential area and is 29.2% owned by state investment fund Investment Corporation of Dubai.

The developer of the world's tallest tower made 1.76 billion dirhams ($479 million) in the October-December period, compared to 1.79 billion dirhams a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations.

Emaar reported a 1% increase in annual net profit to 6.2 billion dirhams and revenue that fell 4.3% to 24.5 billion dirhams compared to the previous year.

The Middle East financial hub, where the private sector shrank in January for the first time since 2009, has faced a slowing real estate market for most of the past decade.

"Emaar's performance in 2019 was resilient, maintaining growth within a challenging market," said its billionaire chairman Mohamed Alabbar in the bourse statement.

Rival DAMAC Properties, one of the biggest developers in Dubai that does not have state backing, reported on Tuesday its first annual loss since 2010.

Emaar has 30,000 residencies under development in the UAE and over 14,000 units globally, with a total sales backlog of 45.8 billion dirhams in unrecognized revenue, it said.

Dubai is expected this year to see the biggest number of new homes completed in more than a decade, adding to pressure on a once-booming but now struggling property sector already weakened by excess supply, according to a Knight Frank report. ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com;))