Aldar sees Q3 net profit fall by 43%

Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties said third-quarter net profit fell 43.4 percent, but beat an analyst forecast and was up from its second-quarter earnings.

The emirate's largest developer by market capitalisation made a third-quarter net profit of AED430 million ($117.1 million) in spite of challenging conditions, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

This was below the AED759.50 million made in the same quarter in 2008, but beat the second quarter's 251.4 million dirhams and a Shuaa Capital third-quarter forecast of AED317.80 million.

It did not give a reason for the decline and company executives were not immediately available to comment.

"My first impression is positive. I believe lands sales materialized in this quarter, if confirmed, the Abu Dhabi property market could be showing the first signs of life in 2009," said Roy Cherry, vice president research, real estate and construction at Shuaa Capital in Dubai.

Aldar's chief financial officer, Shafqat Malik, told Reuters on Monday land sale transactions picked up in the third quarter after making no sales in the first half of the year.

Aldar said it made a nine-month net profit of AED1.57 billion down from AED3.36 billion in the same period last year. It did not give quarterly data which Reuters calculated based on previous statements.

Developments under construction rose to 36.3 billion dirhams, up 58 percent from the end of 2008, it said in the statement.

Total net asset value stood at 17.2 billion dirhams, up 7.4 percent in the first nine months of the year it said.

In neighbouring Dubai, Emaar Properties said last week its third-quarter net operating profit rose 53 percent helped by higher margins on property delivered in the period.

Aldar's shares closed 0.2 percent higher earlier on Tuesday. (Reuters)

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