Emaar Malls (DFM: EMAARMALLS), the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties (DFM: EMAAR), recorded a growth in net profit of 9 per cent during the first nine months (January to September) of the year to AED 1.639 billion (US$ 446 million), compared to the same period in 2017 at AED 1.507 billion (US$ 410 million). Revenue for the first nine months of the year was AED 3.232 billion (US$ 880 million), 29 per cent higher than the revenue for the same period last year at AED 2.5 billion (US$ 681 million).

Highlighting the sustained growth of the business, Emaar Malls reported third-quarter (July to September) 2018 net profit of AED 537 million (US$ 146 million), 10 per cent higher than the Q3 2017 net profit of AED 486 million (US$ 132 million). Revenue for Q3 2018 was AED 1.129 billion (US$ 307 million), an increase of 29 per cent over Q3 2017 revenue of AED 876 million (US$ 238 million).

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, and Board Member of Emaar Malls, said: “As the world’s fourth most visited destination, Dubai serves as the retail gateway for over 2.5 billion people who are only four hours flying distance away. Emaar Malls is leveraging this growth opportunity through our retail and leisure destinations that have set industry benchmarks and contribute significantly to the local economy. The positive performance of the business reflects the success of our strategy to evolve in line with the aspirations of the new generation of customers.”

Today, with its malls and community shopping centres, Emaar Malls has a total GLA of 6.7 million sq. ft., making it one of the largest mall operators in the world. The occupancy levels of Emaar Malls assets during the first nine months of 2018 stood at a robust 93 per cent.

Emaar Malls continued to set impressive visitor footfall, contributing to Dubai’s retail, tourism and hospitality sectors. Together, The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Souk Al Bahar, Gold & Diamond Park and the various community centres, welcomed 99 million visitors during the first nine months of 2018.

Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Malls, added: “The performance of the business in its first nine months remained strong with robust occupancy levels at 93 per cent across Emaar Mall assets. We are particularly pleased to see the sustained growth in visitor footfall of The Dubai Mall with a four per cent increase in the first nine months to 60 million. As we now prepare to mark the 10^th anniversary celebration of The Dubai Mall this November, our focus will continue to be to ensure that our malls are relevant and modern, to increase the dwell-time of visitors and to keep our guests entertained.”

The Dubai Mall alone recorded a visitor footfall of 60 million during the first nine months of the year. This was driven by the recently expanded Fashion Avenue, adding over 150 international brands, as well as a diverse calendar of activities aimed at welcoming international visitors. The mall is also gearing up for its tenth anniversary celebrations, in addition to its ongoing Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard expansion that links it to the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard as well as the Fountain Views and Zabeel extensions.

With the successful inauguration of Springs Souk in Q2 2018, Emaar Malls started redevelopment of Meadows Village to increase the GLA of approximately 75 thousand sq. ft. which will enhance retail experience for the community when completed in 2019. Further, as part of its omnichannel retail strategy, Namshi, the leading Middle East online fashion retailer acquired in August 2017, recorded online sales of AED 607 million (US$ 165 million) during the first nine months of 2018, an increase of 18 per cent over the same period in 2017.

In strategic new developments, Emaar announced Dubai Square, a retail metropolis of the future in Dubai Creek Harbour, the six square kilometre development by the historic Dubai Creek. A 2.6 million square metre (about 30 million square foot) retail, hospitality and residential district for the future, Dubai Square integrates indoor and outdoor to create a social retail experience like no other. Designed for the new generation of customers, it will offer a gross retail space of over 750,000 square metres (8.07 million square foot) and serve as an experiential playground for the world’s leading fashion, luxury, lifestyle and tech brands.

Emaar is marking significant progress in the development of the Dubai Hills Mall in Dubai Hills Estate, which will have a GLA of over 2 million square foot, and be home to over 650 retail outlets including ‘fast fashion’ retail stores, restaurants and cafés. Dubai Hills Mall will also have four major family entertainment and leisure centres as well as a cineplex, hypermarket, seven anchor retail experience stores, and dedicated parking spaces for over 7,000 vehicles.