Emaar said it had fourth-quarter net profit of 716 million dirhams ($194.94 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 274 million dirhams in the prior-year period. 

The results beat analysts forecast for average profit of 475.7 million dirhams, according to a Reuters poll.

Emaar, the Gulf's largest listed developer and which has reported a decline in profits over the past four quarters, said revenue fell 42 percent to 2.24 billion dirhams in the period. 

The company booked impairments of 92 million dirhams in the quarter on provisions against investment in Dubai Bank and deferred or stalled projects. That was far below the 417-million dirham impairment it took in the corresponding period in 2010. 

Full-year net profit was 1.8 billion dirhams, down 27 percent from 2.45 billion in 2010. Revenues fell 33 percent to 8.1 billion in 2011. 

Emaar, which operates the Armani-branded hotels and owns the mammoth Dubai Mall, said its retail business contributed 2.14 billion dirhams to annual revenue, up 13 percent from the 2010. The hospitality & leisure business contributed 1.22 billion dirhams.  

The developer's shopping malls, retail, hospitality and leisure operations accounted for 41 percent of 2011 revenues, compared with 24 percent in 2010 as the firm continued its shift away from the downturn-hit property market. 

"Our strategy for 2012 is to further increase the share of revenues from global operations and enhance the proportion of profit from recurring revenue streams, including shopping malls and retail and hospitality & leisure," Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar's chairman, said in a statement. 

Emaar handed over 350 residential and over 800,000 square feet of commercial space in Dubai and 604 units in other global markets.  

Property prices in Dubai have plunged by about two-third from its peak in 2008, forcing many developers to abandon projects and restructure debt. Home prices in Dubai are expected to drop 5 percent in 2012, a Reuters poll showed last month.

Emaar's shares ended 1.4 percent higher on the Dubai bourse before the earnings were announced.

Emaar is known to have about 3.75 billion dirhams of debt maturing within this year, most of which will be in the first half. Last year, it put up its prized asset, the Dubai Mall, to secure a $1 billion loan as it looked to refinance the upcoming debt amid difficult funding conditions.