LONDON: The Abu Dhabi-based property developer Aldar ramped up its marketing spend in the second quarter of the year in an effort to bolster declining revenues and profits.
The company posted a 5.6 percent decline in quarter-on-quarter net profit in its results published on Thursday. Revenue also dropped by 20 percent to 1.35 billion dirhams ($367.6 million) in the second quarter, according to the company statement.
Net profit was 620.2 million dirhams in the second quarter, down from the 657.4 million recorded in the same quarter last year.
Marketing expenses increased to 23.04 million dirhams in the second quarter of the year, compared to 6.17 million dirhams spent in the same time period last year.
The higher expenses were due to “increased spend promoting Aldar properties throughout the region, particularly Saudi Arabia,” the developer said.
The company has also heightened its focus on mid-income residential property buyers. In April, Aldar launched its 1,272 unit, 1.3 billion dirhams mid-market residential development, called The Bridges, on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi.
“The unprecedented response to The Bridges, which sold out in a matter of weeks, showcases the opportunities presented by the mid-market and supports our strategy to continue to focus on this segment,” said Mohammed Khalifa Al-Mubarak, CEO of Aldar Properties.
The project contributed to Aldar’s 1.8 billion dirhams of development sales value in the first six months of 2017.
“Overall market uptake of mid-market residential product is strengthening, in contrast to high-end product,” said Mohammed Kamal, research director at Arqaam Capital.
“This should bode well for sales growth continuity and volumes at Aldar, improving earnings visibility going forward. Taking cues from Dubai, we see far more price and yield consciousness on the part of buyers in Abu Dhabi, in contrast to previous cycles. Developer margins should continue to normalize in the medium term as a result,” he said.
Aldar increases marketing spend as profit falls
Aldar increases marketing spend as profit falls
Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyadh
RIYADH: The Real Estate Registry concluded its participation in the Real Estate Future 2026, as a partner of the forum, with a distinguished presence that included the launch of its business portal, the signing of 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding with entities from the public and private sectors, the organization of specialized workshops, and the awarding of the Gold Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards.
During his participation in the forum, the CEO of the firm, Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, reviewed the latest developments in real estate registration in the Kingdom in a keynote speech, highlighting the pivotal role of the Real Estate Registry in building a unified and reliable system for data. He also announced the launch of the national blockchain infrastructure, which aims to enable the microcoding of real estate assets, enhance transparency, expand investment opportunities, and support innovative ownership models within a reliable regulatory framework.
On the sidelines of the forum, Al-Sulaiman met with Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa. During the meeting, they discussed areas of joint cooperation, exchanged experiences and advice on shaping the future of the real estate sector, and reviewed best practices in implementing real estate registration systems that enhance reliability and improve the efficiency of property registration.
efficiency of property registration systems.
The Real Estate Registry’s participation included organizing three specialized workshops that focused on the role of geospatial technologies in identifying ownership, enhancing transparency, and improving the quality of real estate data.
The workshop “Empowering the Real Estate Registry for the Business Sector” reviewed digital solutions that enable the business sector to manage its real estate assets more efficiently and enhance governance and technical integration. The workshop “From Off-Plan Sales to Title Deed” focused on the journey of documenting real estate ownership and the role of the registry in linking the stages of development and documentation within an integrated digital system.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Real Estate Registry signed 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a deal with Yasmina Information Technology Co. to utilize real estate data in developing smarter insurance solutions that support the real estate sector and enhance service reliability.
Partnerships were also signed with Haseel, NewTech, and Sahl, as well as HissaTech and Droub, to develop innovative digital solutions in property ownership, fractional ownership, and asset tokenization, as well as real estate finance and investment within a trusted regulatory framework.
Further collaborations included an MoU with ROSHN Group, an agreement with the Saudi Water Authority to enable data integration and quality enhancement, an agreement with the Saudi National Bank, and a partnership with Saudi Post to link the national address with the property registry as a unified geospatial identifier supporting data accuracy and integration.
The registry’s participation was crowned with the Golden Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards in the category of Excellence in Property Documentation, in recognition of its role in building a model based on transparency, accuracy, and speed, as well as advanced digital technologies and specialized legal expertise, contributing to rights protection and increasing the sector’s attractiveness.
The Real Estate Registry emphasized that its participation reflects its continued role as a key enabler of the real estate sector, a trusted data source, and an active partner in driving digital transformation, enhancing market efficiency, and building investor and financier confidence, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives for a fully integrated and sustainable digital real estate ecosystem.
