Union Properties Q2 loss widens on provisions

Union Properties went further into the red in the second-quarter as the struggling Dubai developer booked non-cash provisions against valuation of its properties. The third-largest developer in Dubai made a net loss of AED521m ($141.8m) in the quarter. This compared with a loss of AED349.38m in the same period a year ago.Union Properties did not provide a second quarter earnings figure but said in a statement that its net loss for the first six months of the year widened to AED439m from AED299m in the year earlier period.It did not give more details about the non-cash provisions. Total consolidated bank debt at the end of June fell to AED6.2bn from AED6.9bn at the end of the first half last year, the developer said. It continued to hand over properties from its Index Tower and Limestone House projects.In June, the company said it would repay AED2bn of debt this year and will seek to renegotiate terms for its other loans with banks. Union's revenues for the first half of the year jumped 44 percent to AED2.25bn, it said in the statement.The company finalised the sale of its Ritz Carlton hotel in Dubai for AED1.1bn in November last year and used some of the proceeds to reduce the debt. Dubai's property sector was hit hard by a downturn, with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled, while prices slumped as much as 60 percent. House prices in Dubai are set to fall another 10 percent a Reuters poll in July showed. From / Arabian Business News