$622 Million Net Profit for Emaar Malls in 2019

Photo courtesy of Emirates News Agency (WAM)
Photo courtesy of Emirates News Agency (WAM)
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$622 Million Net Profit for Emaar Malls in 2019

Photo courtesy of Emirates News Agency (WAM)
Photo courtesy of Emirates News Agency (WAM)

Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, recorded a five percent increase in revenue to AED4.673 billion (US$1.272 billion), compared to AED4.446 billion ($1.210 billion) in 2018.

The company revealed in a press statement that overall net profit in 2019 amounted to AED2.286 billion ($622 million), similar to net profit for 2018 of AED2.230 billion ($607 million).

Revenue grew by four percent to AED1.261 billion ($343 million) during the last quarter of 2019 (October to December) when compared to the same period in 2018, said the statement published by Emirates News Agency (WAM).

Namshi, the regional e-commerce fashion and lifestyle platform was fully acquired in 2019 by Emaar Malls.

Commenting on the 2019 performance, Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar and Board Member of Emaar Malls, said, "2019 was a great year for Emaar Malls with occupancy and visitor levels growing steadily.

"This uptick is a result of our continuous innovation as we refresh the customer journey, diversify our portfolio and invest in opportunities to bring our destinations to life. Examples of this include the recently opened Zabeel Extension at The Dubai Mall and the complete acquisition of Namshi, both of which contributed to our achievements in 2019."

"We expect to see this success continue through 2020, as we focus on loyalty programs to drive repeat visits and open new destinations to welcome inbound tourism driven by Expo 2020," he concluded.



Oil Prices Likely to Fall after Israel Shows Restraint in Strikes on Iran

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
TT

Oil Prices Likely to Fall after Israel Shows Restraint in Strikes on Iran

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo

Oil prices are expected to fall when trading resumes on Monday as Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear infrastructure and did not disrupt energy supplies, analysts said.
Brent and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 4% last week in volatile trade as markets priced in uncertainty around the extent of Israel's response to the Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1 and the US election next month, said Reuters.
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle East rivals.
"The market can breathe a big sigh of relief; the known unknown that was Israel's eventual response to Iran has been resolved," Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx said on LinkedIn.
"Israel attacked after the departure of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the US administration could not have hoped for a better outcome with US elections less than two weeks away."
Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage.
"Israel's not attacking oil infrastructure, and reports that Iran won't respond to the strike remove an element of uncertainty," Tony Sycamore, IG market analyst in Sydney, said.
"It's very likely we see a 'buy the rumor, sell the fact' type reaction when the crude oil futures markets reopen tomorrow," he said, adding that WTI may return to $70 a barrel level.
Tchilinguirian expects geopolitical risk premium that had been built into oil prices to deflate rapidly with Brent heading back towards $74-$75 a barrel.
UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo also expects oil prices to be depressed on Monday as Israel's response to Iran's attack appeared to have been restrained.
"But I would expect such downside reaction to be only temporary, as I believe the market didn't price a large risk premium," he added.