Emaar Properties recorded one of its highest ever quarterly sales in Dubai in Q1 2019 at $1.628 billion (AED 5.979 billion), a 53% increase from $1.063bn (AED3.906bn) in the same period as 2018.

The rise in numbers was largely due to a 123% surge in sales to international customers, which more than doubled to $720 million (AED2.645bn) compared to $323m (AED1.187bn) in Q1 2018.

Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, said the global sales highlight Dubai’s position as “one of the most dynamic and growing market economies.”

Emaar said growth in the knowledge economy and the vibrancy of the city were also key drivers of the rise in sales.

The company achieved $474 million (AED1.742bn) in net profit compared to $442m (AED1.625bn) in the same period last year (increase of 7.2%), while revenue stood at $1.605bn (AED5.894bn), similar to Q1 2018.

Alabbar said: “Our focus on timely project execution and cash flow generation underlines our market leadership. Emaar’s operational strategy of building premium residential assets, and expanding the malls, hospitality and entertainment operations to meet the aspirations of the new generation of customers continues to drive our growth."

Emaar’s sales backlog, which will be recognised as revenue over the next three to four years, rose to $13.616bn (AED50.012bn) at the end of Q1 2019 from $13.178bn (AED48.404bn) as of Q4 2018.

In Dubai, Emaar has a sales backlog totalling $10.335bn (AED37.960bn), marking similar results in Q1 2018 despite significant increase in revenue to $4.196bn (AED15.411bn) in 2018.

Record revenue

Emaar Malls, hospitality & leisure, entertainment and commercial leasing businesses saw a record Q1 2019 revenue of $494m (AED1.816bn), meaning they now account for 31% of total group revenue.

Emaar’s shopping malls in Dubai recorded a 3% rise in visitor numbers at 36 million during Q1 2019 compared to 35 million visitors during the same period last year. The malls also saw a 4 percent growth in revenue to $293m (AED1.075bn).

Emaar Malls is one of the world’s largest mall operators with a total gross leasable area of 6.7 million square feet. This year, it fully acquired e-commerce fashion platform Namshi following its acquisition of the remaining stake of Global Fashion Group (GFG) in the online business in an all-cash $129.5m (AED475.5m) transaction.

The hospitality & leisure, entertainment and commercial leasing businesses of Emaar together recorded $201m (AED738m) in revenue, with hotels under Emaar Hospitality Group (including managed hotels) reporting an average occupancy of 87%.

Emaar Development, the UAE-based business owned mainly by Emaar Properties, recorded $910m (AED3.341bn) in revenue in Q1 2019 compared to $889m (AED3.265bn) in Q1 2018.

Emaar Properties, which is listed on the Dubai Financial Market, has a land bank of 1.6 billion sq ft in the UAE and key international markets.