Legal battles restrained earnings at Tamweel, which posted a sharp dip in full-year profits despite a substantial rally in Dubai property values.
The Sharia mortgage lender, in which Dubai Islamic Bank is a majority shareholder, reported net profit for the full year of Dh72.4 million (US$19.7m), a 28.8 per cent decline compared with 2011.
"Net profit was lower in the current year due to exceptional provisions relating to certain ongoing litigations for which the company made full provision while continuing to fight its rights," said Tamweel.
The company did not give details of its legal battles.
However, Abdulla Ali Al Hamli, Tamweel's chairman, said the company was well placed to benefit from Dubai's property recovery.
"As the company moves forward, we are uniquely positioned to play a full and active role in supporting the home finance needs of people looking to purchase property in the UAE," he said.
Rental rates in Dubai increased 16 per cent during last year as the local economy recovered, according to data from the property analyst CBRE.
But Tamweel did not register an increase in margins on lending. The company's income from Islamic financing and investing assets fell by 1.1 per cent to Dh552.3m despite growth of its total assets.
Dubai Islamic Bank said this month it would seek a full takeover of the mortgage lender, having earlier rescued the company after the global financial crisis laid bare the flaws in Tamweel's business model, which relied on it being able to access cheap funding from bond and sukuk markets.
When financial markets dropped in 2008, Tamweel shares were frozen for almost three years as the Government sought, and then abandoned a mooted merger with Amlak Finance, still in the midst of restructuring talks.
In the meantime, mortgage sales are said to have dwindled across the financial services industry during the first weeks of this year as a result of a Central Bank circular imposing minimum loan-to-value ratios on lenders. It is unclear whether the directive will be applied in its current form.
Tamweel shares gained 0.9 per cent to Dh1.13 yesterday.
ghunter@thenational.ae
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Jawan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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SPECS
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BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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