Nakheel - the master developer behind the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai - has announced a net profit of AED4.38 billion for 2018.

Meanwhile, the company’s total equity has more than doubled in the last seven years, standing at AED49 billion in December 2018, compared to AED24 billion at the end of 2011.

Under its core business, residential development, Nakheel handed over 657 land and built form units in 2018, taking the total number of handovers since 2010 to 13,357.

The company also launched new residential projects, including the twin-building Dragon Towers apartment complex at Dragon City, and a collection of new homes at Jumeirah Park in 2018, with more planned as the market dictates.

Nakheel continues to focus on growing its retail, hospitality and leasing businesses, which all performed strongly in 2018, generating revenues of AED2.5 billion from an increasing portfolio of projects.

Nakheel is targeting a substantial increase in annual recurring revenue in the next five years as part of its sustainable growth strategy, with a range of new projects coming on line in the next 18 months to two years that will contribute to the projected increase once fully operational. 

Nakheel chairman, Ali Rashid Lootah, said: “Our focus is on sustainable, long term growth by continuing to expand within the retail, hospitality and leasing sectors in line with our own goals and Dubai’s vision.”

Nakheel’s current and future non-development portfolio includes 19 retail developments with 17 million sq. ft. of leasable space; 18 hotels, resorts and serviced apartment complexes with 6,600 keys between them; and 24 clubs and restaurants across Dubai. 

The company’s operational retail space grew to more than five million sq. ft. in 2018, with the opening of the Pointe, the new waterfront dining and leisure destination at Palm Jumeirah, revenue from which will be reflected from 2019.

Another three million sq. ft. of retail space is expected to come on line this year.

Revenue from Nakheel’s hospitality business also increased in 2018, reflecting the continued robust performance of its first two hotels – which opened in 2016 at Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon City and have now completed two full years of operation – and a range of new community clubs and food and beverage concepts.

Construction of more hotels and resorts is in full swing under Nakheel’s strategy of bringing new and diverse tourist offerings to Dubai as a part of the government’s tourism vision.