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Orascom Construction's chief executive, Osama Bishai, has said that the firm remains "confident that our current backlog will continue to fully support our profitability targets" despite the fact that the company on Thursday reported a 10 percent year-on-year decline in profit attributable to its parent company in the three months to June 30.
Profit at the Egyptian contracting firm, whose shares are dually listed on the Egyptian Exchange and Nasdaq Dubai, declined to $23.7 million during the period, as revenue dropped by 7.5 percent to $947.2 million.
Profit for the six-month period was almost 5 percent higher at $51.7 million, while revenue edged up by 1 percent to $2bn.
In a statement accompanying Orascom Construction's accounts filing, Bishai said: "Our focus on quality over size continues to translate into improved profitability, while allowing us to pursue new attractive opportunities.
"Furthermore, we are pleased with the strength of our current bidding pipeline and committed work in both MENA and USA, and expect to start converting these opportunities into backlog during the second half of the year."
The company said that the amount of new awards won dropped by nearly 73 percent year-on-year during the first six months of 2017 to $743 million, while its backlog fell by 31 percent to $6.6 billion.
Over 62 percent of this is work due to be carried out in Egypt, about 27 percent in the United States of America and just under 5 percent in Saudi Arabia.
© Zawya 2017
