Emaar Malls (DFM: EMAARMALLS), the shopping malls and retail business majority possessed by Emaar Properties (DFM: EMAAR), recorded an expansion in net profit by 3 per cent during the initial six months (January to June) of 2019 to AED 1.130 billion (US$ 308 million), compared to the net profit of AED 1.102 billion (US$ 300 million) during the same period in 2018. Revenue for H1 2019 is AED 2.227 billion (US$ 606 million), an increase of 6 per cent over the H1 2018 revenue of AED 2.103 billion (US$ 573 million).

Revenue for Q2 2019 recorded an increase of 8 per cent to AED 1.152 billion (US$ 314 million), compared to the Q2 2018 revenue of AED 1.065 billion (US$ 290 million), and 7 per cent over the Q1 2019 revenue of AED 1.075 billion (US$ 293 million).

Creating sustained value for its shareholders, Emaar Malls distributed a cash dividend of AED 1.301 billion (US$ 354 million), equalt to 10 per cent of share capital, for the fourth sequential year, during the second quarter of the year.

Strong occupancy and footfall
The assets of Emaar Malls The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Gold & Diamond Park, Souq Al Bahar and the Community Retail Centres together recorded a noteworthy visitor footfall of 68 million during the first six months of this year. This is 2 per cent more than the visitor arrivals during H1 2018, when the assets together welcomed 67 million visitors. The Dubai Mall, the worlds most visited retail and lifestyle destination, welcomed 41 million visitors in H1 2019, 2 per cent higher than the same period last year. Occupancy levels over all assets stood at a robust 92 per cent during the first half of 2019.

Namshi full acquisition
Another feature of the year was Emaar Malls marking the full acquisition of Namshi, the leading regional fashion e-commerce retailer in an all-cash transaction of AED 496.9 million (US$ 135 million). Namshi reported sales of AED 422 million (US$ 115 million) during H1 2019, 10 per cent higher than the online sales of AED 384 million (US$ 105 million) reported in H1 2018.

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties and Board Member of Emaar Malls, said: Emaar Malls has consistently focused on delivering enhanced customer experiences, which drive our sustained growth - both through our malls and Namshi, our fully owned online business. Our strategy is to deliver exceptional omnichannel retail choices for our visitors. The positive performance reflects the customer-oriented asset mix that makes our malls preferred lifestyle destinations for all, as well as the growth in tourist arrivals to Dubai, today, a global tourism and business hub.

Upcoming Assets
Emaar Malls is further reinforcing its retail infrastructure with new extensions of The Dubai Mall Zabeel and Fountain Views scheduled to open this year. These extensions link the mall to the Financial Centre Road and to the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Boulevard, respectively, and will add 4,500 parking spaces, enhancing the connectivity and convenience of visitors.

Dubai Hills Mall, the brand-new asset under Emaar Malls, will open in 2020 in Dubai Hills Estate, which will offer a GLA around 2 million sq. ft. and feature about 550 retail and entertainment destinations. Dubai Hills Mall will have four noteworthy family entertainment and leisure centres as well as a cineplex, hypermarket, seven anchor retail experience stores, and over 7,000 dedicated parking spaces.

Emaar Malls is additionally redeveloping Meadows Village to increase its GLA by roughly 95,000 sq. ft, and is planned for completion in 2020, further enhancing its Community Retail Centres.