Equitativa, the fund manager that runs Dubai’s biggest real estate fund, has stated its intention to continue its cost-cutting drive after posting its third quarter results and reporting an 81% in net profit.
The fund, Emirates REIT, generated a 4% year on year increase in property income to $54.1 million in the first nine months on 2019.
However, a drop in the value of its $1 billion property portfolio led to a revaluation loss of $1.3 million, reducing profit to $5.9 millio.
Equitativa told UAE-based National newspaper that the results represented an improvement on H1 figures when Emirates REIT suffered a $1.1 million drop in profits, adding that “the current lower revaluation losses are an indication of potential market recovery”.
Shares in the UAE’s listed real estate investment trusts have been trading below market value for some time due to the depressed property market and negative investor sentiment but whereas Emirates NBD Asset Management has cancelled tranches of share sales and looked to initiative share buybacks, Emirates REIT is looking to make further acquisitions in the current soft market while focusing on reducing costs and improving operational efficiency.
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