Shams Ar Riyadh to feature interiors designed by Roberto Cavalli Financing costs hit bottom line LONDON: Saudi Arabian real estate developer Dar Al Arkan said that a decline in property sales has dragged down its profits for the third quarter this year, according to a filing on the Saudi stock exchange. Net profit after zakat and tax dropped to SR36.7 million ($9.6 million), a decline of 82 percent compared to profits in the same quarter last year, the company said. Total sales revenues reached SR987.6 million in the quarter, a 33 percent drop compared to the same three-month period last year. The decline in profit comes as the developer pushes forward with its Shams Ar Riyadh project masterplan which envisages a development featuring residential, commercial and mixed-use spaces to be built across a site spanning 5 million square meters in the capital city. The project is to be developed around and incorporate the green landscapes of the valley that cuts through Riyadh known as the Wadi Hanifa. Dar Al Arkan said it was seeking official accreditation for three new development zones within the broader masterplan as well an off-plan sales licence for those property projects already under construction. In May the developer launched its SR600 million Mirabilia luxury villa project to be built within the Shams Ar Riyadh complex, with the upscale residential villas to feature interiors designed by Italian designer Roberto Cavalli. Dar Al Arkan also blamed the drop in third-quarter profits on the increasing cost of finance as well as lower lease revenue. The developer said some of the decline was offset by increases in non-operating income generated by deposits. The company’s performance over a nine-month period looked more promising than its quarterly results, with net profit for the year-to-date more than doubling compared to the same time period last year to reach SR476.3 million. Dar Al Arkan recorded net profit of SR232.7 million in the first nine months of 2017.