Emaar Malls reports rise in revenue and net profit in H1 2019

Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, recorded an increase in net profit by 3% during the first six months (January to June) of 2019 touching AED1.130 billion, compared to the net profit of AED1.102 billion during the same period in 2018.

Revenue recorded for the first half of 2019 is AED2.227 billion, an increase of 6% over the H1 2018 revenue of AED2.103 billion.

Revenue for the second quarter of 2019 recorded an increase of 8% to AED1.152 billion, compared to the Q2 2018 revenue of AED1.065 billion, and 7% over the Q1 2019 revenue of AED1.075 billion.

Major highlights

The assets belonging to Emaar Malls – The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Gold & Diamond Park, Souq Al Bahar and the Community Retail Centres – together recorded an impressive visitor footfall of 68 million during the first six months of this year. This is 2% more than the visitor arrivals during H1 2018, when the assets together welcomed 67 million visitors. The Dubai Mall 41 million visitors in H1 2019, 2% higher than the same period last year. Occupancy levels across all assets stood at a robust 92% during the first half of 2019.

Another highlight of the year was Emaar Malls marking the full acquisition of regional fashion e-commerce retailer Namshi in an all-cash transaction of AED496.9 million. Namshi reported sales of AED422 million during H1 2019, 10% higher than the online sales of AED384 million reported in H1 2018.

“Emaar Malls has consistently focused on delivering enhanced customer experiences, which drive our sustained growth – both through our malls and Namshi, our fully owned online business. Our strategy is to deliver exceptional omnichannel retail choices for our visitors. The positive performance reflects the customer-oriented asset mix that makes our malls preferred lifestyle destinations for all, as well as the growth in tourist arrivals to Dubai, today, a global tourism and business hub,” said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties and board member of Emaar Malls.

Road ahead

Going forward, Emaar Malls is further strengthening its retail infrastructure with new extensions of The Dubai Mall – Zabeel and Fountain Views – scheduled to open this year. These extensions link the mall to the Financial Centre Road and to the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Boulevard, respectively. It will add 4,500 parking spaces, enhancing connectivity and convenience of visitors.

Dubai Hills Mall, the brand-new asset under Emaar Malls, will open in 2020 in Dubai Hills Estate, which will offer a GLA of about 2 million sqft and feature about 550 retail and entertainment destinations. Dubai Hills Mall will have four major family entertainment and leisure centres as well as a cineplex, hypermarket, seven anchor retail experience stores and over 7,000 dedicated parking spaces.

Emaar Malls is also redeveloping Meadows Village to increase its GLA by approximately 95,000 sqft, and is scheduled for completion in 2020, further enhancing its Community Retail Centres.