By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Damac Properties’ general debts have contracted by nearly $400 billion, reaching $1 billion, the real estate firm’s head of investor relation said.

The Dubai-based property developer settles its debts regularly even during the most challenging times of the market, Omar Abu Shaaban told Mubasher.

The company currently has almost $2 billion in cash, equivalent to AED 6.6 billion, Shaaban highlighted.

He emphasised that the value of cash injected into Damac is excellent, standing at AED 1.3 billion ($ 980 million), and has been raised in the first quarter of 2019.

The company now invests reservedly due to the conditions of the market and currently focuses on maintaining its available liquidity to guarantee a better stature for the company in terms of cash, he indicated.

Future plans

Damac plans to hand over approximately 4,000 residential units this year, bringing the number of total delivered units to over 25,000 since the company was founded, Shaaban noted.

The company’s spending rate per month for on-going projects stood at $80 million to $90 million over the previous three years, he added.

He also revealed that the company would consider any profitable overseas investment, pointing out that Damac would seek expansion in the UK and Saudi Arabia if it finds any good investment opportunities there.

The company has set up small-sized projects in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Lebanon, over the past five years, he said.

Q1-19 financial results

At the level of quarterly financial results, Shaaban noted that the recent slump in Damac’s revenue was mainly driven by the company’s adoption to new international standards in preparing for the financial statements.

Under these standards, profits from incomplete projects shall not be calculated at less than 20%, he said.

On Wednesday, Damac Properties announced it logged total revenue of AED 896 million for Q1-19, its net profit stood at AED 31 million.

Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din