Aldar posts Dhs144m profit in Q3

Aldar Properties’ has reported Dhs144 million profit in the  third quarter on Thursday, the third consecutive quarterly increase after massive losses in 2010, as the Abu Dhabi-based developer booked gains from a January land sale to the government.  The builder of the Yas Marina Formula One circuit said it had profit of Dhs144 million for the quarter ended Sept.30, compared with a net loss of Dhs731.2 million in the same period a year ago, it said in a statement. The earnings beat analyst average forecasts for profit of Dhs139.8 million. Revenues for the quarter were Dhs3.13 billion  compared with Dhs505.3 million in the same quarter in 2010. Revenues included Dhs2.6 billionfrom land sales to the Abu Dhabi government which bailed out the indebted developer earlier this year. In the third quarter, Aldar raised borrowings of Dhs734.6 million, it said in the statement. Aldar got a $5.2 billion rescue package from Abu Dhabi earlier this year, and sold many of its properties including the Ferrari theme park and other land assets to the government. It also issued planned mandatory convertible bonds of 2.8 billion dirhams in March to state-owned investment vehicle Mubadala.  Aldar recently appointed Greg Fewer, an executive at Mubadala, as it new chief financial officer, in a growing indication of the government’s influence in the company.  Aldar said it earned revenues of 67.3 million dirhams from its hotel segment and 29.6 million dirhams from schools. Real estate firms in United Arab Emirates were hit hard by the global financial crisis in 2008 with property prices dropping by about 60 per cent from its peak. Aldar is limping back to recovery after posting record quarterly losses at the end of 2010. Investors in Aldar’s $1.1 billion Islamic bond, due on Nov.10, are betting it will repay the issue even if it means more aid from Abu Dhabi.