Emaar Malls has announced a 25 percent drop in revenue for 2020, year-on-year, while profits tumbled by 69 percent as the company felt the full force of the coronavirus pandemic.
The shopping malls and retail business, which is majority-owned by Emaar Properties, saw revenues drop from $1.272 billion in 2019 to $955 million last year, while profits fell from $622m to $192m, as the industry was hit massively by Covid-19 lockdowns and curfews, followed by stringent social distancing guidelines during a gradual re-opening by the government aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
However, Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties and Emaar Malls, remained upbeat:
He said: “Emaar Malls has emerged from 2020 in a much stronger position, having faced some of the most challenging business conditions in a generation. Our wonderful achievements in the past, strengthened by our more recent strategic investments in a digital future, have meant that we were able to quickly adapt and introduce changes that will help us grow and succeed long after the pandemic passes.
“We continue to see guests returning to our malls in greater numbers, and we expect this positive trend to continue in the year ahead, strengthened by the support we receive from our leaders in Dubai and the UAE, and their world-leading rollout of vaccines in the country.”
Emaar Malls provided more than $272m as part of its flexible rental relief policy in the early stages of the global pandemic, which has been extended through until at least March 31 this year.
Occupancy levels across Emaar Malls’ assets – The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Gold & Diamond Park, Souk Al Bahar and the Community Retail Centres – remained resilient during 2020 at 91 percent, a drop of just a single percentage point of the previous year despite the Covid restrictions.
A positive from the financial results revealed on Wednesday was the performance of regional e-commerce fashion and lifestyle platform, Namshi, which recorded sales of $358m, up 28 percent on 2019.
In terms of 2021, Emaar Malls’ partnership with Time Out Group PLC will see the opening of the region’s first Time Out Market in Souk Al Bahar in the first quarter.
Follow us on
