Dubai, UAE: Depa Limited [Nasdaq Dubai: DEPA; "the Company"/"the Group"] one of the world's leading interior contracting companies, today announced its financial and operational results for the third quarter and nine months period ending 30 September 2015.
Financial Highlights Q3 2015
Revenue: AED 347m [2014: AED 513m]
Gross Profit: AED 36m [2014: 77m]
Net Profit / (Loss) after NCI: (AED 22m) [2014: AED 19m]
New Projects signed: AED 279m
Financial Highlights First Nine Months 2015
Revenue: AED 1,188m [2014: AED 1,390m]
Gross Profit: AED 118m [2014: 188m]
Net Profit / (Loss) after NCI: (AED 7m) [2014: AED 46m]
New Projects signed: AED 1,227m
Backlog as at 30 September 2015: AED 2,303m [31 December 2014: AED 2,083m]
In first nine months, the Company was able to generate positive cash from operations of AED 84 million while reducing its bank borrowings significantly by AED 90 million, which resulted in improved net cash position of AED 179 million compared to AED 77 million at same time last year. Furthermore, the continued focus on collections has resulted in a decrease in trade receivables from AED 527 million as at 31 December 2014 to AED 411 million as at 30 September 2015.
Given the current challenging market conditions across the globe with low oil prices, geo-political uncertainty and a slowdown in Asia, the construction industry has been severely impacted. Project delays are imminent resulting in increased costs to complete for many on-going projects in the upcoming quarters.
Following the departure of the Group CEO last month, Depa's Steering Committee has been actively involved in the Company's operations and is rolling out a number of new initiatives to further restructure the Company to withstand the economic headwinds. These include plans to rationalise some of its entities; whilst reducing the global workforce to ensure optimal utilisation of resources. This adaptation to market forces will allow for more flexibility and better position the company for long-term future growth.
Despite the economic challenges in the third quarter of 2015, Depa managed to sign new contracts worth AED 279 million across different geographies, in line with the company's diversification strategy. This brings the total value of new projects won in the first nine months of 2015 to AED 1,227 million.
As at 30 September 2015, the backlog stood at AED 2.3 billion, compared to AED 2.1 billion at year end 2014, as Depa continued to be highly selective in signing new contracts. This approach is reflected in the year-to-date revenue, which declined to AED 1.18 billion in first nine months of 2015 compared to AED 1.39 billion in the same period last year.
Commenting on the results, the Steering Committee of Depa, said:
"Depa's performance in the third quarter of 2015 is reflective of challenging conditions in the wider market. We have taken a prudent approach across our projects and continue to implement measures to improve the efficiency of the business. At the same time, we were able to keep the backlog at satisfactory levels, signing new contracts in the UAE and elsewhere. We also see positive signs coming from Germany, where our mega yacht fit-out subsidiary, Vedder, prides itself with a full order book for 2015 and is well placed for continued growth."
-Ends-
For further enquiries, please contact:
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Tom Drummond or Liam Turner
Tel: +971 4 4507600
depa@bm.com
Depa Ltd
Umar Saleem
Group CFO
Tel: + 971 4 446 2100
ir@depa.com
For more information, please refer to the corporate website: www.depa.com
© Press Release 2015
