Arabtec sees 33% profit decline

Arabtec Holding, the largest construction firm in the UAE, has announced second-quarter net profit of Dh183 million (US$49.82m), marking a 33 per cent decline from Dh273m in the same period last year. Net profit for the second quarter was up 14 per cent from the first quarter, resulting in a profit of Dh345m for the first six months of the year, the company said in a statement. Arabtec's order book has been hit hard by the downturn. According to Al Mal capital, cancelled projects in the UAE have reduced its value to about Dh31bn, compared to about Dh39bn at the end of 2008.

But the company has been quick to adapt by seeking work in other GCC construction markets. In March, it set up Arabtec Saudi Arabia, through which it hopes to generate Dh1.47bn in profit from projects this year. The company was also hit with delayed payments from property developers to the tune of Dh3bn. "The revenues and profits for the second quarter of 2009 are good considering the difficult times that the real estate and construction sectors are experiencing in the UAE and the GCC as a whole, and are in line with our expectations for 2009," said Riad Kamal, the chief executive of Arabtec Holding.

"These results were achieved in very difficult markets, and are attributed to the steps taken last year and still continuing, by the management of the company in relation to, more integration of our business units, reducing costs and improving productivity and efficiency, and to our continuous geographic expansion strategy in new attractive markets." [e-mail]