Emaar Approves AED 4.4 Billion Special Dividend of AED 0.5 per Share

16 September 2026

The board of Emaar Properties approved a one-time special cash dividend of AED 4.4 billion, equal to USD 1.19 billion, or AED 0.5 per share. The decision was disclosed to the Dubai Financial Market on Wednesday 16 September 2026, after a board meeting held to review the company’s capital allocation strategy. The payout is additional to the regular annual dividend and is stated to be aimed at enhancing shareholder value. It still requires approval by the general assembly of shareholders and the necessary regulatory approvals, and neither the record date nor the payment date has been published. In the first half of 2026 the developer reported real estate sales of AED 26.6 billion and net profit of AED 11.1 billion, with a revenue backlog of AED 164.9 billion at the end of June.

What the board approved

The disclosure covers one number and one mechanism. The number is AED 4.4 billion in total and AED 0.5 for every share in issue. The mechanism is a special dividend, meaning a distribution declared outside the regular annual cycle and not expected to repeat on a schedule.

Two qualifications were published alongside it. The first is that the amount sits on top of the regular annual dividend rather than replacing it, so shareholders are being told about an extra distribution, not a reallocation of an existing one. The second is that the decision is a board decision and not yet a payment: the general assembly has to vote on it, and the regulatory approvals that apply to a listed distribution in the UAE have to follow.

The board meeting itself was described as a session on capital allocation strategy, which is the wider frame. Alongside the dividend, directors reviewed proposals relating to the use of the company’s various businesses to create additional value for shareholders, and asked for further legal and financial analysis of some of those proposals before any final approval. No detail of what those proposals contain was published.

The figures behind the payout

Read together, those lines explain where the cash comes from. A revenue backlog of AED 164.9 billion is money already contracted through off plan sales and recognised as construction progresses, so it converts to revenue over several years rather than sitting idle. Sales of AED 26.6 billion in six months and net profit of AED 11.1 billion in the same period are what a distribution of AED 4.4 billion is being measured against.

The second distribution decision of the year

This is not the first payout announced by Emaar in 2026. In March the annual general meeting approved a 100% dividend payout amounting to AED 8.8 billion, which followed a year in which the company recorded its highest ever property sales at AED 80.4 billion, revenue of AED 49.6 billion and net profit before tax of AED 25.7 billion.

The September decision therefore adds AED 4.4 billion of special distribution to an AED 8.8 billion regular distribution already approved for the same year. That is the practical meaning of the word special in this context: the regular cycle continues, and a separate resolution is being put to shareholders for an amount that was not part of it.

What has not been announced

• The record date, which decides who has to be on the register to receive the dividend.
• The payment date.
• The date of the general assembly that has to approve the distribution.
• Which regulatory approvals are outstanding and how long they are expected to take.
• The content of the other capital allocation proposals the board sent for further legal and financial analysis.

Until the record date is published, the dividend is an approved intention rather than a receivable. That distinction matters to anyone holding the stock through a broker, because entitlement follows the register on the record date and not the date of the announcement.

The wider dividend picture in the UAE

The announcement lands in a market where distributions have been rising across the board rather than at one company. UAE listed companies paid out USD 13.6 billion in the second quarter of 2026 on Janus Henderson figures, which we covered in our note on UAE dividends in the second quarter of 2026. Profitability across the listed universe has moved in the same direction, as set out in our report on second quarter profits of UAE listed companies.

Retail participation has been growing alongside it. The Dubai Financial Market opened 59,108 new investor accounts in the first eight months of 2026, a figure we looked at in our piece on new DFM investor accounts. A special dividend of this size is read by that audience as a capital allocation signal, which is exactly how the board framed the meeting.

What this means for companies operating in the UAE

For an operating business in the UAE, nothing procedural changes because of this announcement. No licence, permit, filing obligation or fee is affected, and there is no deadline attached to it. What it does change is the reference point for two practical conversations.

The first is treasury. A company holding listed UAE equities as part of its cash management has to know that entitlement is fixed by the record date, which has not been set, and that the amount is still conditional on a shareholder vote. Planning around an announced but unapproved distribution is a common mistake and an avoidable one.

The second is structuring. Groups that hold UAE listed shares through a holding company, a free zone entity or a foreign vehicle need the receiving entity, the bank account and the activity on the licence to match what is actually being received. Where dividends are booked and which entity holds the securities account are decisions best made before a payment is due, not after. Our guide to opening a bank account in the UAE sets out how banks look at a holding entity whose income is dividends rather than trade, which is the point where most of these structures run into friction.

How Atlant Capital can help

Most of the questions that follow an announcement like this are structural rather than market related, and they are answered before money moves rather than after.

• Setting up a UAE holding or investment entity with activity codes that match holding securities and receiving dividends. See company setup in the UAE.
• Opening the corporate and securities accounts the structure needs, including banks that are comfortable with an entity whose income is investment income. See bank account opening.
• Residency for shareholders and directors who need to be physically present for account opening and for signing. See work visas and residency.
• Reviewing an existing group where the entity holding the shares, the entity invoicing clients and the entity holding the bank account have drifted apart over time.

Conclusion

Emaar Properties has put an additional AED 4.4 billion, or AED 0.5 per share, in front of its shareholders, on top of the AED 8.8 billion regular payout already approved in March 2026. The decision was disclosed to the Dubai Financial Market on 16 September 2026 and is backed by first half real estate sales of AED 26.6 billion, net profit of AED 11.1 billion and a revenue backlog of AED 164.9 billion. What is not yet settled is the timetable: the general assembly still has to vote, regulatory approvals still have to follow, and the record and payment dates have not been named. Until they are, the correct way to read the announcement is as an approved intention with a published amount and no date.

Source: Khaleej Times, Emirates 24|7.

FAQ

How much is the Emaar special dividend?

Emaar Properties approved a one-time special cash dividend of AED 4.4 billion, equal to USD 1.19 billion, or AED 0.5 per share. The decision was disclosed to the Dubai Financial Market on 16 September 2026. The amount is additional to the regular annual dividend and does not replace it.

When will the Emaar special dividend be paid?

No payment date has been announced. Emaar said details of the record date and the payment date will be disclosed in due course. The distribution also remains subject to approval by the general assembly of shareholders and to the necessary regulatory approvals, so the timetable depends on those two steps.

Is the special dividend on top of the regular Emaar dividend?

Yes. The company stated that the special payout is in addition to its regular annual dividend. Shareholders had already approved a 100% dividend payout of AED 8.8 billion at the annual general meeting in March 2026, and the AED 4.4 billion special dividend is a separate resolution on top of that.

What financial results support the Emaar payout?

In the first half of 2026 Emaar reported real estate sales of AED 26.6 billion and net profit of AED 11.1 billion, with a revenue backlog of AED 164.9 billion at the end of June. In 2025 the company recorded property sales of AED 80.4 billion, revenue of AED 49.6 billion, EBITDA of AED 25.6 billion and net profit before tax of AED 25.7 billion.