Drake & Scull posts $9m net profit in H1
DUBAI, August 12, 2015
Drake & Scull International (DSI), a regional market leader in the integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of civil contracting, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), water and power, rail and oil and gas, has posted a net profit of Dh34 million ($9.2 million) for the first half of the year ended June 30.
The firm's revenue for the period hit Dh2.39 billion, achieving a two per cent year-on-year growth, said a report.
About 37 per cent of the consolidated group revenue was generated in Saudi Arabia, which remained the largest market for DSI in H1, it said.
The operations in the UAE picked up momentum and contributed 28 per cent of the group revenue - up by seven per cent as compared to the same period last year.
The operations in Qatar improved and contributed 16 per cent of the group revenue for the period, up by eight per cent compared to last year.
The revenue from the engineering business reached a record high, contributing 60 per cent of the group revenue, up 11 per cent as compared to the same period last year.
The general contracting business contributed 35 per cent of the group revenue, down by eight per cent as compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the total new project awards for the first half of the year reached Dh1.42 billion taking the group backlog value to Dh13.24 billion as of June 30.
The engineering and general contracting businesses constituted 87 per cent and 13 per cent of the new project awards secured in the first half of the year respectively.
The UAE comprised the largest share of the new awards accounting for 75 per cent of the group awards and Oman comprised 25 per cent in H1.
The majority of the new awards were secured in the hospitality sector which accounted for 58 per cent of the group awards while the commercial and residential sectors stood at 24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
Khaldoun Tabari, chief executive officer and vice-chairman, said: “We have met our top line target for the first half of the year; however, we continue to face pressure on our margins as a result of the delays on several projects.
""Despite the bearish business sentiment across the sector, we’ve started Q3 2015 on a positive note with Dh305 million worth of new projects in Kuwait and we remain focused on improving our operation efficiency and on collections across all markets.” - TradeArabia News Service
