Nakheel, the Dubai-owned developer whose extravagant projects spurred the emirate's debt crisis, reported a first-half net profit of Dh526 million ($143.2 million) on Monday, as it handed over projects stalled in the aftermath of the property bust.

Nakheel, which built man-made islands shaped like palms and a map of the world, said its revenues stood at Dh1.5 billion, mainly driven by the handover of development properties in a number of Nakheel projects, it said in an email statement.

The developer's chairman said in September that Nakheel earned Dh860 million in profits in 2010.

Nakheel completed a $16 billion debt restructuring earlier this year and is now wholly-owned by the Dubai government, as arranged under former parent Dubai World's own  restructuring.

The company also credited its retail and leasing businesses for profit growth. Cost cuts helped reduce overhead by 131 million dirhams compared to the same period in 2010, it said.

'The company has remobilised a number of its construction sites where work is progressing as per its business plan,' it said in the statement.

The Dubai government has given as much as $8.71 billion to support the indebted developer which announced in August that it would soon deliver pending projects and pay investors.

Dubai's property boom ended in 2008, with home prices plunging by about 60 percent forcing many developers to abandon projects.

Some of Nakheel's ambitious projects like Palm Jebel Ali, another palm-shaped island stretching into the sea, are yet to be complete.-Reuters