Drake & Scull posts $19.3m net profit in Q3

Dubai-based contractor Drake & Scull International recorded a third-quarter net profit of AED71 million ($19.33 million) on Monday and said it continued to review expansion opportunities in the region.

Drake, which specialises in mechanical, engineering and plumbing businesses and listed on the Dubai Financial Market in March, made a net profit of AED239 million in the first nine months of the year, up nearly 50 percent from the same period in 2008, it said in a statement.

"With resilient cash flow and abundant liquidity, DSI successfully enhanced profitable returns in the first nine months of the year, despite the slowdown in the construction industry," Khaldoun Tabari, the firm's chief executive said.

Executives at the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

The profit fell in between two analysts forecasts in a Reuters survey in October.

"We have a positive outlook on the company," said Roy Cherry, vice president research, real estate and construction at Shuaa Capital.

"The company is expanding across the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council region] and we expect them to announce an acquisition soon."

In August Drake told Reuters it was bidding for contracts worth about AED700 million in the Gulf and said the first of three planned acquisitions in the region would happen by the end of September.

Revenue for the nine-month period was AED1.4 billion, up from AED1 billion in 2008, it said in the statement.

Revenues for the quarter were AED400 million and fell year-on-year due to reduced productivity because of the mandatory reduction of working hours on project sites during the summer period, it said.

The company did not give a revenue figure for the same period last year.

Drake made a net profit of AED86.56 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Outside the Gulf, Drake operates in Sudan and has said it is looking to move into Libya to diversify its income sources.

It won its first contract in Thailand in September.

Its shares closed 8.2 percent higher in earlier trading. The financial results were released after the close of business. (Reuters)

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM