Dubai's Address hotel to reopen by year-end

Dubai - The skyscraper was gutted by fire during New Year celebrations two years ago.

Dubai's Emaar Properties intends to reopen its landmark Address Downtown hotel by the end of the year, some two years after the skyscraper was gutted by fire following an electrical fault, its chairman told Al Arabiya TV on Tuesday.

Mohammed Alabbar was speaking after the developer reported a 56 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profits, boosted by higher revenue from property developments as well as the performance of its malls and hospitality businesses.

In a statement detailing its earnings, the company didn't mention the impact on its results of the Dh1.22 billion it was due to receive from an insurance claim for the Address Downtown fire.

The firm said on February 6 the insurance payout would result in a writeback of the Dh301 million provision it made in its 2015 results against the costs of the fire and would be recorded as income in the quarter ending December 31 2016.

On Tuesday the company reported a net profit of Dh1.61 billion for the quarter, up from Dh1.03 billion in the same period of 2015, while revenues were up 16 percent at Dh4.44 billion.

• Dubai