Dubai developer Deyaar , the emirate's second-largest property developer by market value, returned to profit in the second quarter, as it handed over homes from recently completed projects.

Deyaar made a net profit of Dh18.4 million ($5.01 million) on Wednesday according to Reuters calculations, compared with a loss of Dh243 million in the same period last year.

The developer delivered five projects in the United Arab Emirates in the first quarter and said it would deliver another two this year.

"The performance was the result of handing over of a small portion of the units of properties in the five projects completed at the end of first quarter," it said in a statement on Dubai's bourse.

Deyaar was also able to restructure its existing Islamic financing obligations with an extended repayment period and a substantial reduction in profit rates, it added. It did not give further details. 

The developer made a net profit of Dh44.4 million in the first six months of the year, reversing a loss of Dh344 million in the same period last year, it said in the statement.

The firm's shares ended 4.8 per cent higher at Dh0.3 a share earlier on Wednesday. The earnings were released after the close of business on Dubai's bourse.

Dubai's property sector was hit hard by a property downturn, with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled, while property prices slumped as much as 60 per cent.

Rival Dubai developer Emaar Properties last month saw its second quarter net profit slump 60 per cent. – Reuters