Visitors stand at the booth of Nakheel at the Global Cityscape 2014 exhibition at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Nakheel, famous for building the palm-shaped islands off Dubai’s coast, reported a 47% increase in its nine-month net profit yesterday, as revenue from new properties and retail business rose. Nakheel made a net profit of 2.60bn dirhams ($708mn) in the first nine months of the year compared to 1.77bn dirhams in the corresponding period of 2013. The developer’s profit for the third quarter was 750mn dirhams against 570mn dirhams in the prior-year period, Reuters calculated based on the firm’s financial statements. During the nine months to September 30, Nakheel handed over 956 units to customers, it said. Nakheel, one of the developers worst hit by Dubai’s financial crisis in 2008, has rebounded strongly. Earlier this year it repaid all its outstanding pre-crisis bank debt, worth 7.9bn dirhams, as much as four years ahead of schedule.