Arabtec Q2 profit drops as costs rise

The company's net income for the period to the end of June fell to Dh26m

A unit of Arabtec Holding, the Dubai listed construction company, won two contracts worth Dh210 million in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

Arabtec Holding, a Dubai-listed contractor, reported a 47 per cent slide in second-quarter net profit as costs and expenses increased.

Net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the three-month period ending June 30 dropped to Dh26 million, the company said on Wednesday in a regulatory filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. Revenue for the period fell 8.7 per cent to Dh2.18 billion for the reporting period from the same period a year-earlier. Costs in the second quarter reached Dh2bn and expenses widened to Dh92m.

"We remain committed to our strategy of diversifying our backlog across the infrastructure and industrial sectors. During the first half of the year, we have secured new contracts in the industrial sector which we expect to continue given the strength of the pipeline," Arabtec's group chief executive Peter Pollard said.

“With a particular focus on strengthening our balance sheet, we continue to reduce our debt by Dh373m during H1 2019.”

“Our strong pipeline of tender opportunities coupled with Arabtec’s longstanding market reputation provides us with a strong base to grow the company and deliver on our strategic road map. We also remain focused on diversifying our backlog geographically and we are selectively evaluating opportunities in other GCC countries and Mena region,” Mr Pollard said.

Arabtec’s backlog remained strong at Dh14bn despite the decline in new awards during the first half of the year, according to the company.

Net profit for the first half of the year fell 49 per cent to Dh57.8m from the same period a year earlier. Costs in the period narrowed slightly to Dh3.9bn while expenses widened to Dh206m.