By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Damac Properties Dubai Company is considering investment opportunities outside the UAE to maximise its profits, head of investor relations at the Dubai-listed developer, Amr Aboushaban, told Mubasher on Wednesday.

The company is planning to expand in both Saudi Arabian and British markets, the top official added.

Aboushaban revealed that Damac has completed small projects in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Lebanon, during the last five years.

There are good opportunities in Britain and Saudi Arabia, but the company is facing some challenges in the latter, on top of which the overpricing of lands and the slowdown in the luxurious properties market, he remarked.

Aboushaban maintained that his company is not currently attracted to the Egyptian market because its nature is not compatible with the company’s mechanisms.

He revealed to Mubasher that Damac’s debt has declined by 30% to reach $1.05 billion, adding that the company’s liquidity went down to $1.52 billion (AED 5.6 billion), from $2 billion (AED 6.1 billion).

The real estate company is planning to deliver 4,000 residential units in 2019, which will increase the number of units delivered by Damac since its establishment to more than 25,000, Aboushaban said.

Damac Properties’ net profit dropped 91% year-on-year during the first half of 2019, recording AED 81.6 million.

Translated by: Muhammad Abdul-Wakeel