Sorouh predicts profits surge on back of Reem handover

Sorouh Real Estate, the second-largest publicly traded developer in Abu Dhabi, expects profits to rise in the second quarter this year as it begins delivering homes on Reem Island.

The company already handed over 58 offices to buyers in Sky tower in the Shams Abu Dhabi project. Gurjit Singh, the chief operating officer of Sorouh, said the company would begin handing over apartments in the Sun tower next door in May.

Jones Lang Lasalle predicted that at least 16,000 homes would be delivered in Abu Dhabi this year, a move that developers say could increase confidence in the property sector and sales. Transactions have remained low since the onset of the global financial crisis in the Gulf, which led priced to fall by about half in the capital from their peaks.

"Delivery is key," Mr Singh said at the Cityscape Abu Dhabi property conference today. "It instils confidence in developers and the market."

Sorouh collects the final 40 per cent of the purchase price of homes on delivery and cannot report profits on sales until the unit passes on to its owner.