Drake & Scull International saw its profit slump in the third quarter of 2012 as it witnessed a slowdown in its major markets.
The Dubai-based contractor reported total revenues of AED2.1bn in the first nine of months of 2012 and posted net profit of AED83m for the same period, it said in a statement.
It added that revenues earned in Q3 totalled AED623m, down from AED847m in Q3 last year, with profits of AED8m, down from AED60m.
The company said the Q3 performance had been impacted by “the seasonal trend and the associated slowdown in productivity across DSI’s major markets”.
It added that it was looking to expand its business into the rail sector and was prequalifying for major bids across the region.
Its order backlog closed at AED7.5bn as of September while total project awards year to date reached AED2.7bn, DSI said in a statement.
The company achieved a substantial breakthrough into the Iraqi market in Q3 by securing AED736m worth of projects in the oil and gas and wastewater 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.”
He added: “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.”
Dubai-based Drake & Scull International said on Wednesday it has signed a $120m loan deal to finance further overseas growth.
The design, engineering and construction contractor said it had raised a five-year loan with a syndicate of banks.
Goldman Sachs International acted as coordinator for the transaction. Emirates NBD, First Gulf Bank and HSBC Bank Middle East were co-bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers while Mashreqbank was lead arranger.
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