Arabtec Holding, a leading contractor for social and economic infrastructure, has registered a three-fold growth in its net profit for the first quarter which rose to Dh63.6 million ($17.3 million) from Dh17.6 million ($4.7 million) for the same period last year.

Announcing its financial results for the first three months, Arabtec said its revenue surged to Dh4 billion in the first quarter compared to Dh2.2 billion last year, up 10.7 per cent.

The Emirati group’s backlog stood at Dh16.2 billion, well supported with a solid pipeline of Dh16 billion of tenders submitted or under preparation in its primary market of the UAE.

In line with its strategic roadmap, Arabtec’s focus has moved to re-basing the business through a range of initiatives focused on productivity, efficiency, innovation and strengthening the balance sheet, said the builder in its statement.

The group will continue to simplify its business and workforce management through better tools and processes and outsourcing activities where it makes sense, it stated.

Operationally, the group will look to apply innovative approaches to enhance its work and delivery capabilities. Arabtec will continue to better leverage synergies across the group through closer integration of its businesses to ensure they provide a strategic fit with their core operations, it added.

Group CEO Hamish Tyrwhitt said: "I am pleased to report a positive start to the financial year. We have seen a material increase in our net profit since last year with solid growth in revenue. Q1 results reflect the positive impact of our various transformation initiatives."

"In 2018, strengthening governance still remains our key priority through rigorous project and business performance reporting, with a strong emphasis on cash, collection of receivables and closing-out legacy projects," noted Tyrwhitt.

During the first quarter, Arabtec secured new wins including the deal for 916 villas in Akoya Oxygen from Damac Properties worth Dh424 million and another big infrastructure project from Dubai Municipality worth Dh433 million.

"To further strengthen the balance sheet, we will look to divest or develop non-core assets and investments to ensure a sustainable and successful future for Arabtec," he added.-TradeArabia News Service