DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai’s DAMAC Properties DAMAC.DU, owner and operator of the only Trump-branded golf club in the Middle East, is confident of its financial position despite registering its worst quarter in terms of booked sales since the company went public five years ago, its chief financial officer said.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the signboard after the removal of the Trump International Golf Club portion at the AKOYA by DAMAC development in Dubai December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo
DAMAC is feeling the impact of a real estate market in Dubai that is under pressure because of lower property prices and subdued sales as new developments hit the market.
“In a cyclical market it’s important to have some sense of certainty over direction, and from that perspective, we’re satisfied,” Adil Taqi said in a phone interview on Tuesday after the publication of DAMAC’s results for the first half of 2018.
“We’re also satisfied in a way that every day in a weak cycle that we put behind us puts us closer to the turnout.”
Taqi said the firm was “holding its nerve” in terms of cash balances and payment plans.
DAMAC’s second quarter profit from continuing operations fell by around 46 percent year-on-year to 378.2 million dirhams ($103 million). Total revenues for the first six months stood at 3.7 billion dirhams, year-on-year growth of 5 percent.
Dubai’s real estate prices, hit by new supply, could decline by 10 to 15 percent over the next two years, after falling between 5 to 10 percent in 2017, according to S&P estimates earlier this year.
DAMAC has not pulled or delayed any existing projects, and 2018 is likely to be a bumper year in terms of property deliveries, the CFO said.
In the first
