Dubai's Emaar Properties posts 8% rise in second quarter profits

Dubai developer Emaar Properties said Sunday its profits in the second quarter of 2016 grew by eight percent to $346 million as sales increased.

Revenues of the group, which built the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa, rose by seven percent to 3.728 billion dirhams ($1.015 billion), compared to the same period last year, it said in a statement.

In the first half of the year, profit was 12 percent up to 2.475 billion dirhams, with revenues increasing 11 percent to 7.257 billion dirhams.

Emaar's property sales in Dubai in the first six months surged 45 percent to $2.411 billion, "highlighting strong investor demand for Emaar's iconic developments," the group said.

Dubai's real estate sector has slowed down with residential prices dropping around 12 percent last year as demand from overseas has fallen.

Emaar's recurring revenues from retail and hospitality amounted to 40 percent of total revenues in the first half of the year.

"We are... strengthening our hospitality portfolio with 35 new hotels and serviced residences in the UAE and international markets," said Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar.

Emaar said in March it will build a viewing tower that will be "a notch" taller than Burj Khalifa and cost around $1 billion.

Burj Khalifa, which opened in January 2010, is 828 metres (2,700 feet) high and cost $1.5 billion to build.