Tuesday, May 15, 2012
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Drake & Scull International (DSI.DFM), or DSI, posted an 18% drop in first quarter net profit on Tuesday as contract costs related to some of the Dubai-based builder's projects increased.
Net profit in the three months ending March 31 amounted to 37.6 million U.A.E. dirhams ($10.2 million), down from AED45.9 million in the year ago period, according to a statement posted on the Dubai Financial Market website.
The quarterly result was way below the AED72 million result that analysts at HSBC had predicted and was also less than the AED59 million that EFG Hermes had penciled in. Analysts at Beltone Financial had expected AED60 million.
DSI said revenues in the first three months of 2012 came to AED776.7 million, a 20% increase on the year earlier period. Contract costs meanwhile more than offset this, swelling to AED667.4 million, from AED544.4 million.
"We have seen our revenues increase and this is attributed to our sustained backlog and to the timely execution of the projects on hand. Expansion into rail is underway and the company is currently prequalifying for major bids across the GCC. The Oil & Gas division is also eying projects in the region and we expect continuous growth for t he Civil, MEP and Water and Power businesses," said Khaldoun Tabari, DSI's chief executive officer.
Going forward, DSI's Chief Financial Officer Osama Hamdan said the company will continue to focus on Asia and North Africa apart from its primary markets and is exploring various prospects through its Civil, MEP and Water and Power divisions.
The company said its order backlog closed at AED7.7 billion as of March 31, 3% higher than the same date a year earlier.
DSI shares last traded 2.6% lower at AED0.80 in a mostly flat overall market.
-By Tahani Karrar-Lewsley and Nicolas Parasie, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 446 1698, tahani.karrar@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
15-05-12 0644GMT
