Dubai’s Emaar Properties has reported an 8 per cent increase in the second-quarter net profit as revenues for the UAE biggest property developer rose.

Emaar, the developer of the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, recorded a net profit of AED1.27bn ($345.8m) for the second quarter ending 30 June, which compares with a net income of AED1.18bn reported for the corresponding period of 2015, the company said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

The revenue for the three-month period reached AED3.73bn, rising 7 per cent from AED3.50bn announced a year earlier due to “on-scheduled constriction progress and the achievement of new milestones that contributed to higher revenue recognition,” Emaar said without elaborating in the statement.

The company’s net profit in the first half of this year was AED2.48bn, 12 per cent higher than the same six months of last year. Revenues for the period also rose 11 per cent to reach AED7.23bn.

The first-half recurring revenues from Emaar’s shopping malls and hospitality businesses reached AED2.916bn, which was 40 per cent of the revenues during the first six months of this year, the company said adding that the slight increase came despite the ongoing developments at its flagship Address Downtown Dubai.

The luxury hotel and residential tower, was ravaged by a huge fire on New Year’s Eve, which police later said was caused by an electrical short circuit.

Emaar, had to write down AED301m in the last quarter of 2015, which affected its fourth quarter 2015 bottom line.

Emaar made total property sales worth AED10.44bn in the first six months of 2016, a 23 per cent increase over the corresponding period of 2015, according to the statement which added that the sales in Dubai jumped 45 per cent to AED8.85bn and the company now has a backlog of AED 45.9bn which will be recognised over the next three-to-four years.

Emaar has a portfolio streatching across the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the US.

The property market in the UAE is softening amid an economic slowdown and waning investor and consumer confidence as oil prices continue to slide. The volumes of sale and property values have slumped in 2015 and analysts predict further declines this year.

However, Emaar is going ahead with mega developments. It has announced plans to build a tower, which will be taller than the 828-metre Burj Khalifa Burj Khalifa in height.

The company has already successfully completed wind tunnel tests to confirm the structural strength and durability of Calatrava-designed tower which it plans to build at its Dubai Creek Harbour development.

The Dubai Creek Harbour at the Lagoons is Emaar’s largest scheme in the emirate. The developer has said it is three times larger than its Downtown District. The UK’s Faithful + Gould is the programme manager for the development.

The project was launched by Emaar and another local developer, Dubai Holding, in October 2014. The two companies signed a joint venture agreement to develop the site in 2013.