Aldar Properties declined to the lowest intraday level in more than two months on speculation Abu Dhabi’s biggest property developer may face funding problems after the chief executive officer resigned.
The shares retreated for a fourth day, slumping as much as 6.7 percent to AED2.24, the lowest intraday level since Aug 31. They traded at AED2.28 at 12:17 pm. in Abu Dhabi, bringing the drop for the year to 54 percent.
Chief Executive Officer John Bullough left the company, Aldar said on November 1. His replacement will be named after a board meeting on Nov 8. The developer has about AED26bn ($7bn) of debt outstanding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The market is taking the resignation of the CEO as a negative sign that Aldar’s funding plan won’t materialize by the end of the year,” said Majed Azzam, a real estate analyst at Alembic HC Securities. “The CEO left at a critical time, and there are worries the departure has to do with differences regarding the structure of the plan and potentially reshuffling of management.” Azzam has an “overweight” recommendation on the shares.
Aldar is due to announce third-quarter results next week. The median estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg is for a fourth consecutive quarterly loss of AED215m.
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