Emaar Apartment Sales Plunge 85% in Second Quarter on Weak Demand in Dubai

Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the developer of the tallest tower in Dubai, said revenue from apartment sales plunged 85 percent in the second quarter amid weak property demand in the Persian Gulf emirate.

Income from apartment sales dropped to 265.6 million dirhams from 1.75 billion dirhams a year earlier, according to Emaar’s financial statement posted on Dubai’s stock markert today. Revenue from sale of villas jumped to 337 million dirhams from 54.5 million dirhams. Emaar posted second-quarter earnings on July 26 and provided a breakdown of revenue today.

Emaar, United Arab Emirates’ biggest developer by market value, was hurt by a more than 60 percent slump in property prices in its home market as speculative demand waned and banks tightened lending since mid-2008. The company reported a 69 percent decline in second-quarter profit as it wrote down the value of a bank investment and delivered fewer completed homes.

Sales of commercial units, plots of land and others rose to 596.5 million dirhams in the second quarter from 176.7 million dirhams a year earlier, while revenue from the hospitality business advanced 20 percent 283.8 million dirhams, according to the statement.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net