UPDATE 2-Emaar swings to Q2 profit, misses estimates

* Q2 profit 802 million dirhams, below analysts' forecasts

* Analysts attribute miss to low handover at Burj Khalifa

* Incurred 53 mln dirhams loss on sale of unit in Q2

* Shares end flat on Dubai bourse

(Recasts, adds details, background)

By Dinesh Nair and Matt Smith

DUBAI, July 22 (Reuters) - Dubai's Emaar Properties EMAR.DU swung to a second-quarter profit on Thursday but missed analysts' estimates as the developer handed over fewer units than forecast at the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa.

Emaar made a second-quarter net profit of 802 million dirhams ($218.4 million) on Thursday, compared with a loss of 1.29 billion dirhams in the same period of last year when it wrote off the book value of its U.S. unit.

Analysts' average forecast was for a profit of 968.45 million dirhams, according to a Reuters survey. [ID:nLDE6660ME]

Revenue for the quarter stood at 2.65 billion dirhams.

"The largest surprise came in Emaar's top line, where most analysts including myself had booked in more revenues," said Chet Riley, Nomura property analyst.

"A large portion of Q2 revenues were expected to come from the handover of Burj Khalifa, with around 800 million dirhams coming from recurring sources."

In a statement, Emaar said it handed over 24 percent of units in Burj Khalifa during the quarter.

Dubai's once-booming property sector has been hit hard by the financial crisis, with house prices dropping about 55 percent from their peaks in 2008 and billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled.

Emaar's net operating profit for the second quarter was 896 million dirhams. Net profit was lower after it booked a 53 million dirham loss on the sale of its Hamptons International subsidiary and wrote off 41 million dirhams in an associated company. [ID:nLDE65G063]

Emaar's shares closed flat at 3.37 dirhams while the Dubai index .DFMGI eased 0.2 percent.

Yazan Abdeen, a portfolio manager at ING Investments in Dubai, said even though the numbers came below consensus, margins in the quarter were "impressive" and the company's provisioning for the sale of its Hamptons subsidiary had removed uncertainty in the market regarding the sale.

"Overall I think the results were positive. The Hamptons provisioning story has been put into perspective. That means this chapter is closed," he said.

"Whether the units are handed over in May, June or August, the fact is that they will be handed over this year."

ING Investments' MENA fund holds Emaar shares in its portfolio.

Among Emaar's high-profile assets is Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping centre. The developer also has a joint venture with Italian fashion house Georgio Armani to develop luxury hotels globally.

The developer has said it would focus on expanding in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia in 2010.

In the first quarter, Emaar's net profit more than tripled to 760 million dirhams on revenues from its hospitality and retail business. [ID:nLDE63L1AS] (Editing by Will Waterman and Michael Shields) ($1=3.672 Uae Dirham)