Majid Al Futtaim H1 2026 Results: Net Operating Profit Up 25% to AED 1.8 Billion, Record EBITDA of AED 2.5 Billion, Revenue of AED 17.5 Billion and a Development Pipeline Above AED 100 Billion Led by the AED 62 Billion Dubai South Community

2026-09-09

Majid Al Futtaim, the Dubai-based group that owns Mall of the Emirates, the City Centre malls and the Carrefour franchise in the region, reported on 9 September 2026 that its net operating profit after tax for the first half of 2026 rose 25% year on year to AED 1.8 billion (USD 490 million), that EBITDA reached a record first-half AED 2.5 billion (up 11%) and that revenue edged up 1% to AED 17.5 billion. Development revenue grew 38%, shopping mall revenue 12%, and retail revenue fell 6%, driven by non-food categories in the UAE. Total assets stood at about AED 73 billion (up 4%), net borrowings at AED 13.2 billion, and the development pipeline now exceeds AED 100 billion, anchored by the AED 62 billion, 22-million-square-foot community the group agreed to build with Dubai South near Al Maktoum International Airport in May 2026. This article sets out the verified numbers, compares them with the first half of 2025 and the full year 2025, walks through the projects behind the pipeline and explains what the results mean for a company that sells, leases, builds or supplies in the UAE.

Majid Al Futtaim H1 2026 at a glance

Sources: Majid Al Futtaim H1 2026 results press release of 9 September 2026; H1 2025 results as published by the group on 4 September 2025. Percentages are those reported by the group; where rounded absolute figures imply a slightly different ratio, the official percentage is used. USD figures converted at the AED peg of 3.6725.

What was announced and by whom

The results were published by Majid Al Futtaim Holding in a press release dated 9 September 2026 and reported the same morning by The National, which also carried an interview with Ahmed Galal Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Holding. Fadel Abdulbaqi Al Ali, Chairman of the Board, described the group’s strength as “rooted in disciplined stewardship, prudent capital allocation and a long-term commitment to creating enduring value”. Mr Ismail told The National that “our businesses across the 14 markets where we operate has proven to be quite resilient, our diversification helps us to weather whatever storm comes our way”, and that the group is “confident about the outlook for 2026”.

Majid Al Futtaim was founded in 1992 and remains privately owned. It operates in 14 markets across the Gulf, Egypt, the Levant, Pakistan, Georgia, Kenya and Uganda; owns 29 shopping malls, including Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, Mall of Oman and the City Centre destinations; runs seven luxury hotels and five mixed-use communities (Tilal Al Ghaf and Ghaf Woods in Dubai, Al Zahia in Sharjah, Al Mouj in Muscat); operates more than 600 VOX Cinemas screens and a network of nearly 500 shops under its lifestyle brands; and holds the Carrefour franchise in the region. The group says its businesses serve more than 600 million customers a year. The National describes it as the Middle East’s largest mall operator.

Where the growth came from

The headline is that earnings grew far faster than revenue. Revenue rose 1% and EBITDA 11% because the mix shifted towards higher-margin businesses: development, shopping malls, cinemas and digital platforms contributed a greater share of group performance. Four movements explain the half:

1. Development, up 38%. Revenue recognised on residential projects under construction in Dubai and Cairo made development the growth engine of the period. The group awarded AED 2.8 billion of construction contracts and describes its pipeline as exceeding AED 100 billion.
2. Shopping malls, up 12%. Mall revenue grew on “resilient customer demand, strong leasing activity and solid tenant performance”. That growth offset softer tourism demand in the hotels during the second quarter, so the combined asset management portfolio of malls and hotels grew net revenue 4% to AED 2.3 billion. At the end of 2025 the group reported mall occupancy above 98%.
3. Retail, down 6%. The Carrefour-led retail business saw revenue fall 6%, “predominantly driven by non-food categories”, which the group attributes to “more challenging consumer conditions, particularly in the UAE” and to deliberate changes made as part of its retail transformation. Markets outside the GCC grew 4%, with Egypt and Kenya singled out. Retail digital revenue rose 11% to AED 1.8 billion, and Precision Media, the group’s retail-media advertising business, grew 89% to AED 75 million.
4. Entertainment and lifestyle. Cinema revenue rose 3%. The lifestyle business, which represents lululemon, LEGO, Crate & Barrel, Shiseido and other international brands in the region, grew revenue 5% (digital up 9%), opened five stores, including the first international store of the US brand Pacsun, and secured seven further openings. Through tenant partnerships, including with Alshaya Group, the malls also welcomed Primark and Ulta Beauty.

Customer metrics moved in the same direction. The SHARE loyalty programme reached about 14 million members after its launch in Saudi Arabia, with more than 190,000 customers transacting daily and more than 140,000 SHARE credit cards issued, and the group’s Net Promoter Score rose four points to 58.3. Digital revenue grew 12% in entertainment, 11% in retail and 9% in lifestyle.

The regional conflict and the consumer

The results cover a half in which the region was at war. The National notes that the war between Iran and the US and Israel began on 28 February 2026, and Majid Al Futtaim says its second quarter was affected by “the impact of the regional conflict on the operating environment”. In the interview with The National, Mr Ismail said the effect had been uneven: in the GCC there were supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressure and a hit to consumer sentiment, while the businesses in East Africa, Egypt and Georgia were not affected. He also described “a very quick rebound of consumer spend recovery”, with total mall footfall across the group “almost flat year on year”. The group did not quantify the impact on earnings.

On expansion, Mr Ismail said the group holds a land bank in Syria and is “keeping a close eye” on the market, but that Syria is not part of its near-term plans. The group’s stated priorities remain the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the wider Middle East.

The AED 100 billion pipeline: what is actually in it

The pipeline figure combines projects at very different stages. The ones the group names are these:

• Dubai South, AED 62 billion. On 19 May 2026 Dubai South and Majid Al Futtaim signed an agreement to develop a 22-million-square-foot mixed-use master community near Al Maktoum International Airport, anchored by a large shopping mall and combining residential, retail and lifestyle components. The agreement was signed by Nabil Alkindi, Group CEO of Dubai South, and Ahmed Galal Ismail, and witnessed by Khalifa Alzaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, and Fadel Abdulbaqi Al Ali. The release did not give phasing or a completion date.
• New Cairo, USD 3.1 billion (AED 11.4 billion). In June 2026 the group signed a partnership with the Egyptian developer MIDAR for a mixed-use development in Mada City, New Cairo, covering about 2.3 million square metres with around 6,000 homes, hotels, commercial and entertainment space and a business district, to be delivered in two phases. Majid Al Futtaim has operated in Egypt for 27 years and runs four City Centre malls and 115 Carrefour and Supeco stores there.
• JUNCTION, West Cairo. The group broke ground on a mixed-use business park whose first phase forms part of an investment exceeding EGP 20 billion.
• Ghaf Woods, Dubai. Launched on 5 June 2024, the “forest living” community off Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Highway near Global Village covers 738,000 square metres, is planned for more than 7,000 homes released in eight phases to 2031 and is being planted with 35,000 trees. Construction advanced during the half.
• Mall of the Emirates, about AED 5 billion. The redevelopment of the flagship mall, announced in April 2025, adds around 20,000 square metres of retail space and about 100 new stores, plus a wellness precinct and a theatre district with a 600-seat venue. Construction is under way.

Read together with the AED 113.7 billion of sales the UAE’s top 10 developers booked in H1 2026, the pipeline shows where the next decade of retail and residential supply in Dubai will come from: the corridor between Expo City, Dubai South and Al Maktoum International.

Balance sheet: net borrowings of AED 13.2 billion against AED 73 billion of assets

Net borrowings stood at AED 13.2 billion at the end of June 2026, compared with net debt of AED 13.4 billion a year earlier and AED 11.9 billion at the end of 2025. The group says cash and committed credit lines cover more than two and a half years of net financing needs, and total assets rose 4% to about AED 73 billion. The 2025 full-year results, published in March 2026, provide the baseline: revenue of AED 35.9 billion (up 6%), EBITDA of AED 5.1 billion (up 10%, the first time above AED 5 billion), net profit of AED 3.6 billion (up 41%), free cash flow of AED 3.5 billion, net debt to equity of 32% and BBB ratings with stable outlooks from S&P Global Ratings and Fitch. In October 2025 the group raised USD 500 million (AED 1.84 billion) through a 10-year sukuk with an order book above USD 2 billion, and in November 2025 a USD 500 million hybrid bond.

The comparison with listed peers is instructive: UAE listed companies grew net profit 28.6% in Q2 2026, so a privately held group with 25% growth in operating profit is in line with the market rather than ahead of it. The difference is that Majid Al Futtaim reports it while carrying a pipeline above AED 100 billion on a BBB balance sheet.

What the numbers mean for a business in the UAE

For a company that trades in the UAE, the report is less about the group than about the market it measures. Six practical readings:

1. Retail tenants: rents are not softening. Mall revenue up 12% on strong leasing, with occupancy above 98% at the last count, means landlords are not under pressure to discount. A brand planning a first store in Dubai should budget for prime-mall rents and fit-out on the landlord’s timetable, or look at newer community retail such as The Grand in Nad Al Sheba, which was fully leased before opening.
2. Consumer goods: non-food is the soft spot. A 6% fall in retail revenue driven by non-food categories in the UAE, alongside Mr Ismail’s comment on inflationary pressure, is a signal for distributors and importers of electronics, home goods and apparel to plan for price-sensitive demand and promotions in the second half.
3. Contractors and suppliers: AED 2.8 billion awarded, AED 100 billion to come. The Dubai South community, Ghaf Woods and the Mall of the Emirates works are live procurement. Fit-out, MEP, landscaping (35,000 trees at Ghaf Woods alone), facilities management and retail technology suppliers should complete vendor registration now, not when tenders close.
4. Homegrown brands: Ma’an is open. Launched on 2 April 2026 with Dubai SME, the Ma’an programme gives UAE-based small and medium businesses that have traded for at least 12 months showcase space across Mall of the Emirates, THAT Concept Store, VOX Cinemas and Carrefour, plus promotion through the SHARE app, mall screens and media partners. More than 70 brands were supported in the first half. Applications are made on the group’s website.
5. International brands: the franchise route. The lifestyle division’s model, illustrated by Pacsun’s first store outside the US, is the route many foreign brands take into the Gulf: a regional partner holds the licence and the leases. The alternative, a company of your own with a mainland or free zone licence, gives control but requires local set-up, a bank account and staff visas.
6. Location: the Al Maktoum corridor. A 22-million-square-foot community next to the airport that is planned to become the world’s largest changes the calculus for logistics, retail and service companies choosing between Jebel Ali, Dubai South and the older districts. Dubai South is itself a free zone with its own licensing, so a company can be registered in the district where the community will be built.

Two smaller items also matter to tenants and operators. First, the group’s 23 fully owned malls now carry green certification (18 LEED Platinum, four LEED Gold, one Estidama 3 Pearls), and the fit-out guide of a certified mall is worth reading before a lease is signed. Second, UAE music licensing rules apply to malls, restaurants and hotels from December 2026, a cost line every mall tenant that plays music should already have in its 2027 budget.

Checklist for a company that sells, leases or builds in the UAE

• Check which of your categories are food and which are non-food; the demand picture in H1 2026 differed sharply between them.
• Ask landlords for the actual occupancy and footfall of the specific mall, not the portfolio average; the group reports footfall “almost flat” year on year.
• If you are a UAE-based SME with 12 months of trading, apply to Ma’an and prepare a brand story, product photography and a pop-up plan.
• If you supply construction or fit-out services, complete vendor registration with Majid Al Futtaim Properties and Dubai South before the Dubai South community tenders start.
• Decide between a franchise partner and your own licence early: the licence type determines which malls you can lease in and which activities you can invoice for.
• Put the December 2026 music licence and green lease obligations into the 2027 operating budget.
• Have a UAE corporate bank account and residence visas in place before signing a lease; landlords ask for both.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital works with founders and companies from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the wider CIS that are entering the UAE market. We register mainland and free zone companies, including retail, trading, food service and contracting activities in Dubai South, Meydan, IFZA and DMCC, and advise on the licence type a landlord or franchisor will accept. We open corporate bank accounts with UAE banks and prepare the file a bank expects from a retail or trading business, and we arrange residence and work visas for owners, managers and store staff. For brands weighing a franchise partner against their own entity, we model both options with real 2026 costs.

Conclusion

Majid Al Futtaim closed the first half of 2026 with net operating profit after tax up 25% to AED 1.8 billion, record first-half EBITDA of AED 2.5 billion and revenue of AED 17.5 billion, with malls and development doing the work while non-food retail in the UAE went backwards. The balance sheet (AED 73 billion of assets, AED 13.2 billion of net borrowings, BBB ratings) is funding a pipeline above AED 100 billion led by the AED 62 billion Dubai South community. For a business in the UAE the report is a map: prime retail space is full and priced accordingly, non-food consumer demand is soft, construction procurement is accelerating, and the next growth corridor has an address next to Al Maktoum International Airport.

Sources: Majid Al Futtaim H1 2026 results press release (majidalfuttaim.com, 9 September 2026); The National, 9 September 2026; Majid Al Futtaim FY 2025 results (March 2026); Majid Al Futtaim H1 2025 results (4 September 2025); Dubai Media Office, 19 May 2026 (Dubai South agreement); Majid Al Futtaim press releases on Ghaf Woods (5 June 2024), Mall of the Emirates (April 2025), Ma’an (2 April 2026) and MIDAR (June 2026); Gulf News, 22 June 2026. USD figures converted at the AED peg of 3.6725.

FAQ

What were Majid Al Futtaim’s results for the first half of 2026?

For the six months to 30 June 2026 Majid Al Futtaim reported revenue of AED 17.5 billion (up 1%), record first-half EBITDA of AED 2.5 billion (up 11%) and net operating profit after tax of AED 1.8 billion (up 25%). Development revenue rose 38%, shopping mall revenue 12%, and retail revenue fell 6%. Total assets were about AED 73 billion and net borrowings AED 13.2 billion.

What is in Majid Al Futtaim’s AED 100 billion development pipeline?

The pipeline includes the AED 62 billion, 22-million-square-foot mixed-use community agreed with Dubai South near Al Maktoum International Airport on 19 May 2026, the USD 3.1 billion (AED 11.4 billion) Mada City project with MIDAR in New Cairo, the JUNCTION business park in West Cairo, the Ghaf Woods community in Dubai (738,000 square metres, more than 7,000 homes) and the AED 5 billion redevelopment of Mall of the Emirates. AED 2.8 billion of construction contracts had been awarded by 9 September 2026.

Why did Majid Al Futtaim’s retail revenue fall in H1 2026?

Retail revenue fell 6% year on year, mainly in non-food categories, which the group attributes to more challenging consumer conditions in the UAE and to deliberate changes made in its retail transformation. Markets outside the GCC grew 4%, led by Egypt and Kenya, retail digital revenue rose 11% to AED 1.8 billion and the retail-media business Precision Media grew 89% to AED 75 million.

How can a small business get into Majid Al Futtaim malls?

Through Ma’an, the programme launched with Dubai SME on 2 April 2026. It is open to UAE-based small and medium businesses that have been trading for at least 12 months and offers showcase space across Mall of the Emirates, THAT Concept Store, VOX Cinemas and Carrefour, plus promotion through the SHARE loyalty app, mall screens and media partners. More than 70 brands were supported in the first half of 2026; applications are made on the group’s website.