Arabtec records first quarter loss despite increasing revenues

15 May 2016

The company continues to make net losses as revenues increase

The Dubai-listed contractor Arabtec Holding has reported a net loss despite rising revenues in the first quarter of this year.

The company has reported a net loss of AED46.4m ($12.6m) in the first three months of this year, compared with AED279.8m in the same period last year.

Arabtec has reported losses in the last five quarters but the first quarter results did see revenues increase to AED1.94bn from AED1.79bn in the first three months of 2015.

The contractor has attributed its poor financial performance to market conditions, although the company has had a turbulent few years.

The Dubai-listed company was at the heart of a sell-off in 2014 after its shares hit a record high on investor bets that Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar’s increasing influence in the company could lead to government contracts. Its shares have slumped more than 70 per cent from the peak.

In April, Arabtec’s chairman said the company expects to break even this year and could return to profitability in 2017.

“2015 was a severe year, 2016 is still tough. I am confident of 2017, that’s when I see profit,” Arabtec’s chairman Mohamed al-Rumaithi told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual annual general meeting. “For 2016, maybe we will break even.”

Arabtec aims to cut costs and this could include job cuts, although al-Rumaithi did not give details about how many jobs at the loss-making contractor could be lost or how much the company could save with layoffs. “There’s some fat to be taken out,” he added.

 

 

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.