Dubai’s Drake and Scull replaces CEO, blames ‘rumours’ for share price drop

DSI has seen its share prices drop over 79 per cent so far this year

by Aarti Nagraj

August 14, 2018

Dubai contractor Drake and Scull International (DSI) has appointed Yousef Al Mulla as the new CEO of the group and its subsidiaries – its second executive in less than five months.

The decision was taken during the company’s board meeting on Monday.

Al Mulla will take on the role from August 26, DSI announced in a brief bourse statement on Tuesday.

He replaces Fadi Feghali, who took on the role on April 1.

The company did not reveal the reason for the change.

Shares in Drake & Scull jumped 7.2 per cent to Dhs0.505 in early trading following the announcement after plunging 79 per cent this year, according to Reuters.

The Dubai-listed company, which is seeking to restructure about Dhs1bn ($272.2m) of debt, has seen a major management reshuffle in recent years.

Feghali, who was previously managing the international business units of DSI, took on the CEO post which was vacant since August 2017, after the company removed Wael Allan during a management shake-up.

Allan, who assumed the post in October 2016 after the founder and CEO Khaldoun Tabari stepped down, spent less than a year as CEO.

Last month, DSI also announced that chief financial officer Feras Khalthoum had been appointed as the chief restructuring officer, a newly created post at the company.

The company appointed PG Raut as its new CFO, replacing Khalthoum, it said.

Also read: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull appoints new chairman, MD

In its statement on Tuesday, DSI also confirmed that it was preparing a plan for to continue its restructuring efforts which began in 2016.

The “detailed comprehensive plan” will apply to its local and international units and subsidiaries and will be “considerate of the rights” of all the stakeholders, the statement said.

DSI has seen its share prices drop over 79 per cent so far this year, with the decline in the last month alone standing at 31.6 per cent.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) also sent a letter to DSI asking about the reason for the sharp fall in prices.

In response to that, DSI revealed that the drop in share prices was “solely subject to the mechanism of supply and demand in the market”.

“Nevertheless there has been several rumours circulating in forums and social media including the possibility of the company’s share being suspended from trading and may have resulted in the decline,” it said.

“We hereby confirm that the company has no intention to make such a request to suspend the share and that most of teh information that is published in social media forums is incorrect or mere rumours,” it added.

Last month, it was also reported that the former CEO Khaldoun Al Tabari and his daughter owned the company up to Dhs1bn ($272.3m).

However, Tabari later denied the reports that he and family owe the company any money, and warned of legal action against those spreading “unfounded allegations”.

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