Aldar Properties reported a 9.7 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday, as the state-linked builder of Abu Dhabi's Formula One circuit shook off concerns about a softening market by posting higher revenue.
The net profit of 657.4 million dirhams ($179 million) in the three months to June 30, disclosed in a bourse filing, was the eighth successive quarter of rising earnings for the firm. It made 599.2 million dirhams in the year-earlier period.
SICO Bahrain forecast Aldar would make a quarterly profit of 384.1 million dirhams.
The result comes against a backdrop of negative indicators about the health of the Abu Dhabi market.
Last week, two consultancies said there were initial signs in the second quarter of price declines in the residential market despite new supply being at an all-time low, as job cuts at state-owned companies weighed on demand.
This came after comments in late May from a senior Abu Dhabi government official that the state may consider stepping in as the emirate's property market was over-supplied.
However, Aldar remained bullish in its outlook, retaining its guidance to construct 1,500 residential units this year.
"There is still demand in Abu Dhabi for the right product and the right location," Talal al-Dhiyebi, the firm's chief development officer, said on a media conference call.
Aldar's second-quarter revenue was 1.70 billion dirhams, up from 1.11 billion dirhams a year earlier as it made more than 1 billion dirhams of off-plan sales. The firm did not provide a comparative sales figure.
The company, in which state-owned fund Mubadala Development Co. is the largest shareholder, has been seeking to generate more revenue in recent quarters from retail and hospitality assets to offset property market fluctuations.
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