Manazel Real Estate, a leading UAE developer, has posted net profits of Dh195 million ($53 million) for 2015, up 29 per cent from Dh152 million ($41.38 million) in the previous year.

The profit growth was driven by the benefits of a successful restructuring strategy initiated in 2014 and an enhanced sales and marketing initiative guided by an experienced management team, a statement said.

Revenues for the period were stable at Dh740 million, compared to Dh739 million in 2014 driven by the strong demand for Manazel’s Reef 2 villas project during the year.

The stability in revenues can also be attributed partly to recurring rental streams from Manazel’s portfolio of mall/retail areas, commercial and residential properties and district cooling, demonstrating Manazel’s long-term strategy to diversify into recurring revenue-generating streams in closely aligned growth sectors, according to the statement.

The company’s total assets increased from Dh3.63 billion to Dh4,19 million and the shareholder’s equity increased from Dh2.01 billion in 2014 to Dh2.60 billion as at the end of 2015 resulting in book value of Dh1.04 per share as at 31 December 2015, compared to Dh0.81 as at 31 December 2014.

Basic earnings per share were Dh0.08 compared to Dh0.05 in the previous year, on a capital base of Dh2.5 billion.

Manazel’s chairman Mohamed M Al Qubaisi said: “Over the last 12 months, we have focused on growing both our core business whilst diversifying our revenue as we seek to optimise significant shareholder value over the longer term. We have invested in our human capital and wider business infrastructure and as a business we are now uniquely positioned for steady and sustainable long term growth.”

Manazel’s chief executive officer Hasan Fahmi said: “Manazel Real Estate delivered a strong performance for 2015 driven by a focused revenue diversification strategy.”

“Our measured entry into new markets including retail and other growing sectors will provide significant upside for shareholders and complement our existing successful real estate development division. In the year ahead, we will focus on leveraging our well-capitalised balance sheet to grow our brand and footprint as well as focusing on our core residential real estate business in line with our strategy of meeting the needs of the middle-income segment,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service