Dubai contractor Drake & Scull fired its top management in another shakeup at the company undergoing restructuring as it said losses widened further last year.
DSI board of directors approved firing its chief executive officer Tawfiq Abu Soud, chief financial officer Khaled Jarrar and chief legal officer Mohamed Ghanem, the company said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market on Thursday. Mr Abu Soud had been appointed group chief executive in January.
The contractor will be managed by an executive committee comprised of three executive managers until it hires a new CEO and CFO, DSI said. The board of directors approved appointing Fadi Saba as chief legal officer and board secretary.
In a separate statement to the bourse, the company which was suspended from trading in November, said on Thursday it realised a net loss of Dh4.5 billion last year widening from 1.18bn in 2017. The loss is mainly "due to allowance against expected credit losses...and impairment of goodwill." The contractor said revenue declined 70 per cent to Dh798 million last year from 2017. Earlier this month the board had received approval of shareholders to sell some of the assets of the Dubai-listed contractor as it tries to narrow losses amid an ongoing restructure.
The engineering and construction contracting company appointed restructuring advisers in November last year, after posting a net loss of Dh498m for the three months to September 30, compared to a net loss of Dh181m in the previous quarter.
DSI had appointed Tussbridge Advisory as financial adviser, and law firms Allen & Overy and Al Tamimi & Company as legal advisers, to oversee the development of a new business plan. The appointments are part of continued restructuring efforts launched two years ago to stabilise the business, which had fallen on hard times amid a softer property and construction sector in its core UAE market on the back of the three-year oil price slump that began in 2014.
The team of advisers "working with our newly formed restructuring committee, will not shy away from taking the tough decisions necessary to refocus the business and, with support from our many stakeholders, restore the company to financial health”, DSI said in September.
Since 2016-17, DSI has been scaling down its operations as it tries to get rid of its non-performing business streams.
"Looking ahead our main focus will be to restructure our debt and equity for which a comprehensive plan is in progress," the company said on Thursday.
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
About%20My%20Father
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
