10-02-2010 - Dubai-based Tamweel PJSC has reported on Monday a net profit of Dh11 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a net loss of Dh112.4 million in the year-earlier period, on lower costs of funding.

The company posted a full-year net loss for 2009 of Dh54 million versus a profit of Dh460.7 million in 2008, Tamweel said in a statement.

"The company continues to operate in an admittedly difficult environment at present," Tamweel's chairman, Shaikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said in the statement.

"Steps have been taken to control costs and maintain operational efficiency, and to position the company to move forward," he added.

Losses per share for last year stood at Dh0.06 versus earnings per share of Dh0.46 in 2008.

The total impairment provision carried on the books at the year-end was Dh408 million.

Shaikh Khalid told Al Arabiya television earlier this month that the firm is studying options if its merger with Amlak Fin-ance PJSC fails.

The UAE in November 2008 said it plans to merge Amlak and Tamweel once the country's two biggest mortgage lenders and shares of both companies, which are listed on the Dubai Financial Market, have been suspended since merger discussions were announced.