Nakheel, a leading regional developer based in Dubai, UAE, has registered a net profit of Dh3.61 billion ($982 million) for the first nine months, up 39 per cent over Dh2.6 billion ($707 million) for the same period last year.

The surge in the nine-month profit, which is almost equal to Nakheel’s last year result of Dh3.68 billion ($1 billion), is mainly due to continued strong performance by its development business, with ongoing handovers of properties to customers, said the company in a statement.

The Dubai developer pointed out that its growing retail, leasing and leisure businesses also contributed to the overall financial results for the first nine months.

Nakheel continues to focus on completing various development projects under construction, as well as expanding its retail, hospitality and residential leasing projects to further contribute to the growth of Dubai’s real estate market and to further reinforce the company’s overall financial position.

Commenting on the results, chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: "The significant increase in our net profit for the first nine months is a sign of stability in the local real estate market. We will continue to build on these results during the last quarter of the year."

"Nakheel continues to play a key role in the Dubai economy by stepping up construction on a number of projects. We have announced more than Dh3.1 billion ($844 million) worth of construction contracts in the last three weeks alone, highlighting our commitment to contributing positively and effectively to Dubai’s real estate sector," remarked Lootah.

"Our strategy of continuing to create more cash-generating assets will further boost our business and financial results in the coming years. As ever, we thank the Government of Dubai for its ongoing support and our investors for their increasing trust and confidence in Nakheel," he added.-TradeArabia News Service