Orascom Construction, which saw its second quarter 2021 net profit more than double on new project awards, said it is eyeing a pipeline of opportunities in Egypt before the end of the year.

The global engineering and construction contractor’s Q2 net profit came in at $23.8 million versus $9.8 million in the year-ago period.

"New projects this quarter were led mainly by a pick-up in the US... and included work across the water and industrial sectors in Egypt where we continue to reinforce our leadership in such market segments. In addition, Egypt continues to provide us with an interesting pipeline of new opportunities that we expect to materialize during the second half of 2021," Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction said in a statement on Sunday.

Orascom Construction, which is listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Dubai, said Q2 revenue rose to $868.3 million, up from $791.2 in the previous period.

For HI, the company reported net profit of $47.7 million and revenue of $1.68 billion.

Consolidated backlog for H1 increased 8.8 percent y-o-y to $5.9 billion and pro forma backlog, including 50 percent share in BESIX, increased 6 percent y-o-y to $8.4 billion as of 30 June 2021.

"We also generated positive operating cash flow in Q2 2021, but not enough to compensate for Q1 2021. That said, we are on the right trajectory and are working diligently to conclude the year on a positive note. On the operational front, we are progressing across the board and expect to witness the completion of major projects in H2 2021 particularly in the water sector," Bishai said.

He said subsidiaries and investments in building materials, facilities management and infrastructure assets recorded another strong quarter, accounting for 22 percent of total net income in H1 2021.

"We are focused on growing this part of our business, which should continue to benefit from sustained demand for building materials coupled with our efforts to pursue new investments that provide us with recurring income."

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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