Deyaar sees profit, upbeat about Dubai - CEO

Deyaar sees profit, upbeat about Dubai – CEO

"We are currently selling around 400 units, some of which were owned by Deyaar and never sold. Around 60 percent of these units were forfeited from clients who could not pay," Qatami said.

October 2, 2012 6:07 by M. Aldalou

Property developer Deyaar is predicting a profitable 2012, pinned on a recovery in the real estate market and increased revenues from sales, the company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

Deyaar, badly hit by Dubai’s property bust, is focusing on completing existing real estate projects and selling more than 400 units from old projects.

“Based on our results, in the first six months of this year, we expect positive numbers for 2012,” Saeed Al Qatami told Reuters on the sidelines of a property event in Dubai.

“We will be profitable and the coming quarters will be similar to the previous ones.”

Deyaar, the emirate’s second largest developer by market value, reported a marginal increase in second-quarter net profit, as it slashed costs, but revenue more than halved in the same period.

“We are currently selling around 400 units, some of which were owned by Deyaar and never sold. Around 60 percent of these units were forfeited from clients who could not pay,” Qatami said.

The company is also offering customers incentives to prop up sales and occupancy levels at its various projects.

Qatami said that Dubai’s real estate market was picking up again after a damaging slump in prices and confidence from a 2008 peak.

“The Dubai market is showing signs of recovery given the increase in demand and investor confidence,” Qatami said, adding that stricter rules and regulations for the property market would help stabilise the market further.

“When you activate rules and regulations, you will protect the market from speculators. Something like not allowing owners to sell a unit in the secondary market before paying 30 pct of the total value will stabilise the market.”