Depa, the interior contractor listed on the Dubai International Financial Exchange yesterday said its net profit for the first-half of 2008 rose 75 per cent to Dh55.6 million compared to a year earlier.

The company said its contract income rose 24.8 per cent to Dh741.1 million in the first-half compared to the same period in 2007.

Depa's revenues from outside the Middle East and North Africa have increased this year. Income from outside the Mena contributed Dh20.8m in the first-half, compared to no income a year earlier, the report said. The company's backlog is more than Dh2.5bn at the end of the first-half compared to Dh1.6bn in December 2007.

"Business is highly seasonal and usually between a quarter and a third of contract income is realised in the first half of the year," Depa said a statement.

Depa is also entering new markets. New Depa Design Studio joint venture in Singapore has established a strong foothold in the wider Asian interior fit-out market, said the statement.

Depa also Increased holding in Jordan Wood Industries Company, a Jordan-based wood manufacturing specialist, by 22 per cent to 36.4 per cent.