Dubai developer Union Properties reported a 2.2 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday due to a slump in housing sales.

The Dubai-listed firm made a first quarter net profit of Dh21.9 million ($5.96 million), it said in a bourse statement, slightly lower than Dh22.4 million it posted in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue from sales of homes and property management plunged to Dh25.8 million from Dh159.8 million in the prior-year period.

However expenses reduced to Dh24.6 million from Dh35.1 million in the year ago period.

The company was one of many property firms in Dubai that were hit by a property market collapse in 2009-10, which saw home prices plunging by more than half and a large number of projects being put on hold. – Reuters