DSI posts Dh8m Q3 profit
Drake & Scull International (DSI), a regional construction firm, on Wednesday reported net profit of Dh8 million for the third quarter of 2012.
While net profit for the first nine months totalled Dh83 million.
The company, however, didn’t provide the comparative figure for the previous year.
Revenues totalled Dh2.1 billion in the first nine of months of 2012.
In the context of the seasonal trend and the associated slowdown in productivity across DSI’s major markets, revenues earned in Q3 are Dh623 million. Earnings per share reached Dh0.002 compared with Dh0.027 recorded during the same period last year.
The order backlog closed at Dh7.5 billion as of September 2012 while total project awarded year-to-date reached Dh2.7 billion. The company achieved a substantial breakthrough into the Iraqi market in Q3 2012 by securing Dh736 million worth of projects in the oil & gas and waste water treatment sectors.
Osama Hamdan, CFO of DSI, said: “The Q3 results reflect an overall slowdown in the construction sector in the region. Productivity rates dropped across all our projects in the GCC and Africa. The procurement cycle in our operations dipped as result of the summer holiday season, thereby impacting the overall profitability. The company also extended its contract provisioning in the third quarter.”
The cumulative revenues for the first nine months of 2012 indicate a continued momentum and our backlog has been positively enhanced as a result of the recent project awards. The company has been able to record strong projects awards across all sectors year to date indicating sustainable growth and sound fundamentals.
Hamdan added, “The solid performance of our core MEP business has been strong with over 10% net margins and will continue to contribute to the growth of DSI .The oil & gas and civil businesses are expected to enhance revenue growth during the last quarter. Expansion into Rail is on track and the company is prequalifying for major bids in that sector across the region.”
DSI obtains Dh440m loan
Drake & Scull International (DSI), a regional construction company, on Wednesday signed a $120 million (Dh 440 million) loan split across a UAE dirham and US dollar tranche.
The company raised a 5-year term loan with a syndicate of banks. Goldman Sachs International acted as Coordinator for the transaction. Emirates NBD Bank, First Gulf Bank and HSBC Bank Middle East Limited joined GSI as Co-Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers and Mashreqbank as a Lead Arranger.
On this occasion Osama Hamdan, CFO of Drake & Scull International, said: “The loan will help the company in pursuing its growth plans in North Africa, Asia and other growth markets and will provide the liquidity to capitalise on various PPP (Private Public Partnership) projects which usually require participation from contractors in terms of investment, especially in the infrastructure sector. This transaction will allow us to strategically grow the operations, coverage and team of DSI by supporting key new areas of business such as our oil & gas, rail and Asian operations. We will also focus on existing areas that continue to grow in importance globally such as infrastructure and water and power.”
on Tuesday, Drake & Scull International said it had been awarded three new mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracts amounting to Dh318.5 million for a commercial development facility in Saudi Arabia in the western province Al Taif and an administrative governmental facility and hospitality development in Abu Dhabi.
Khaldoun Tabari, CEO of Drake & Scull International, said Saudi and Abu Dhabi projects add momentum to the business strategy across the GCC, particularly in KSA and Abu Dhabi which are among the priority markets in its regional growth plan.