World's tallest building developer, Burj Khalifa's 1Q profits down 45%

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The Dubai developer of the world's tallest building says its first-quarter profit dropped 45 percent as it handed over the keys to far fewer new homes than it did a year earlier.

Emaar Properties posted quarterly earnings of 421 million dirhams ($114.7 million) Sunday, down from 760 million ($207.1 million) in the same period a year earlier.

The company says it handed over about 270 housing units during the quarter, compared with more than 1,300 in the first quarter of last year.

Revenue slumped 31 percent to 1.98 billion dirhams ($539.5 million).

Emaar is the developer of the more than half-mile high Burj Khalifa. It also runs Dubai Mall, the biggest shopping center in the Middle East.

By AP