Emaar Development's first quarter earnings drop, shares follow | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Emaar Development's first quarter earnings drop, shares follow | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Emaar Development, the United Arab Emirates based property development arm of Emaar Properties, reported a drop in first quarter earnings (Q1), triggering a retreat in the company’s shares on Tuesday.

Emaar Development’s Q1 2019 net profit amounted to 751 million UAE dirhams, compared to 819 million dirhams in Q1 2018, an 8.3 percent drop, trailing SICO Bank’s estimate of 902 million dirhams.

“While the earnings was a miss on our estimate; key takeaway for us is the surge in 1Q19 off-plan sales with rising penetration from non-UAE residents, which we think would be driven by rising Chinese appetite,” Ayub Ansari, senior analyst at SICO, told Zawya by email.