Drake & Scull Wins QAR300m Qatar Contract

Drake & Scull Qatar (DSI Qatar), a subsidiary of UAE contractor Drake & Scull International (DSI), announced that it has been awarded a QAR300 million contract for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of all MEP works for a real estate development in Doha.

The project mainly covers substructure and superstructure works within a 260,000 square meter built-up area that includes residential buildings, schools, utilities, offices and retail buildings, DSI said in a statement.

The name of the project was not revealed.

Earlier this week, the company also announced that its civil contracting arm signed a Dhs450 million civil contract in Saudi Arabia’s Western province.

Work on the project will start immediately with an estimated completion date in December 2014, the company said in the statement without giving further details.

DSI, which specialises in civil contracting, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, made a net profit of Dhs128 million in 2012, down 41.8 per cent compared to Dhs220 million in 2011.

Osama Hamdan, CFO of DSI said: “The decline in the consolidated net margins in comparison to last year is primarily attributed to the growth in the civil business and the increase in the SGA associated with the launch of the oil & gas and rail divisions in addition to the establishment of new offices in Iraq and India.”

Revenues during the year rose 6.5 per cent to Dhs3.3 billion, up from Dhs3.1 billion in the previous year.

Total project awards announced in 2012 reached Dhs5.4 billion, compared to Dhs4.4 billion awarded in 2011. The total order backlog also increased 30 per cent year-on-year to Dhs9.1 billion, DSI said.

In December last year, DSI’s joint venture with Arabian Construction Co won a new contract in Saudi Arabia valued at SAR2.7 billion, to build the third phase of the Jabal Omar development in Mecca.

In November, the company also announced that it had received three contracts worth a total of $86.7 million in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.