Arabtec Reveals 189% Q3 Net Profit Rise

Arabtec has reported a huge third quarter net profit rise of 189 per cent, up from Dhs35 million a year ago to Dhs101 million.

The Dubai-based construction firm also revealed a net profit rise of 137 per cent for its first nine months of year, up from Dhs108 million in 2012 to Dhs256 million.

The earnings were well ahead of analysts’ estimates who expected a quarterly profit of Dhs64.9 million.

Arabtec, which is building a branch of France’s Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, also said it had dropped plans for a second phase of a planned $1.3 billion rights issue and capital hike.

“Today’s results, which beat market expectations, demonstrate that the business is performing well and that the contract wins in 2012 are now making a notable contribution to cash flow and earnings,” Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, managing director and CEO of Arabtec Holding.

“We are also pleased to see growth in our key markets of UAE and Saudi Arabia, which continue to be important drivers across a number of our business segments.”

The report showed revenues for the third quarter were up 39 per cent on last year while revenues for the first nine months were up 27 per cent.

“The positive results are further supported by the healthy GCC construction market growth and fundamentals, giving us confidence in our growth strategy,” said Ismaik.

“We continue to make significant progress with the realignment of our business and the implementation of our growth strategy.

“We are very confident that our growth strategy will help us achieve our aim of growing Arabtec’s existing business and expanding into higher-margin and higher-growth sectors.”