Leighton Holdings, the Australian contractor helping to build Abu Dhabi’s new airport terminal, said underlying profits rose by more than a fifth in the first nine months of the year.
The company, which operates in the UAE through its Habtoor Leighton Group joint venture, has bagged a raft of high-profile contracts over the past year.
They include a Dh600 million order on Abu Dhabi’s Midfield Terminal, a Dh1.45 billion package on Dubai’s Jewel of the Creek development and the US$1.7bn New Orbital Highway project in Qatar.
Leighton is restructuring its business and seeking to sell its mining, transport construction and property operations with the aim of focusing on major capital projects in the public sector.
“The restructuring of the Leighton Group business, announced in June this year, is on track for substantial completion by the end of the year,” said the chief executive, Marcelino Fernández Verdes.
He said any proceeds from asset sales would be used to reduce debt and finance growth in public private partnerships.
Leighton said net underlying profit after tax rose 21 per cent to A$470m (Dh1.51bn) in the first nine months of this year compared to a year earlier.
Revenue was broadly stable at A$17.8bn, the contractor said.
A spokeswoman for Habtoor Leighton Group in Dubai said there was no one immediately available to answer questions.
scronin@thenational.ae
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