Retail

Majid Al Futtaim reports 6% profit drop as sales slow

March 24, 2025, 6:14 PM

Profit is down at Majid Al Futtaim, which runs malls including the City Centre Bahrain — Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates malls around the Middle East, including the City Centre Bahrain

Revenue dipped to $9.2bn in 2024
First full year of UAE corporate tax
CEO cites ‘geopolitical headwinds’

Shopping mall owner Majid Al Futtaim has reported a drop in profit for 2024, attributing the decline to lower retail revenue, a higher tax burden and currency devaluation in some of its international markets.

Total revenue fell 2 percent to AED33.9 billion ($9.2 billion) and profit dropped 6 percent to AED2.5 billion in 2024, MAF said in a statement.

The business, which owns Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and holds the regional franchise for French hypermarket Carrefour, said revenue from retail operations was down 10 percent, compared with 4 percent in 2023.

Ahmed Galal Ismail, chief executive of MAF, said the group had suffered from “complex circumstances, including macroeconomic factors, geopolitical headwinds and higher corporate tax costs”.

Carrefour has been under pressure since 2022 because of its franchise agreement with Israel’s Electra Consumer Products and has faced consumer boycotts.

Over the last 12 months MAF closed its Carrefour stores in Oman and Jordan, opening its own grocery brand HyperMax. In Egypt it opened discount grocery supermarket Supeco.

MAF cited currency devaluations in “key” markets and the impact of geopolitical tensions on consumer sentiment as contributing factors, but did not specify which markets had been affected.

It has previously faced similar challenges in Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya and Lebanon.

2024 was also the first full year in which MAF – like other companies in the UAE – paid corporate tax at 9 percent. The measure was introduced in June 2023.

MAF’s entertainment division posted a 5.5 percent decline in revenue, to AED1.7 billion.

Its property division reported a 25 percent increase in net revenue, driven by its malls and residential real estate portfolio. Revenue at its lifestyle business also increased, up 26 percent to AED1.3 billion.

MAF operates shopping malls and retail and leisure facilities across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Its net borrowings decreased to AED13.9 billion, with 33 months of liquidity.

MAF is rated BBB, with a stable outlook, by both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.