Dubai’s Arabtec Q2 Net Up 11%, Misses Estimates

Arabtec, the construction company at the centre of Dubai’s stock market turmoil, reported an 11 per cent rise in second-quarter profit on Sunday, missing analysts’ estimates.

Net profit climbed to Dhs103 million ($28.1 million) in the three months to June 30 from Dhs92 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Dhs111 million.

Revenues jumped 51 per cent to Dhs2.41 billion on the back of business growth in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf markets, said Arabtec, Dubai’s biggest listed builder.

Profit growth slowed from the first quarter; in the first half of this year, net profit rose 55 per cent to Dhs240 million, while revenues rose 45 per cent to Dhs4.56 billion.

Arabtec’s share price more than tripled earlier this year, then plunged by more than two-thirds as tensions emerged between major shareholder Aabar Investments and chief executive Hasan Ismaik, leading to Ismaik’s resignation in June.

The stock’s slide triggered margin calls that sent shockwaves through the entire Dubai market, which lost $30 billion of value from peak to trough, though it has now recovered about half of those losses.

Since Ismaik’s departure Arabtec has launched a restructuring plan, putting some of his expansion plans under review and laying off a “limited” number of staff. It has not described the restructuring in detail, and Sunday’s statement did not give further information about it.

“All decisions taken by the Board and executed by the management aim at achieving the shareholders’ and investors’ interests, elevating the company’s position, increasing the revenues and achieving potential growth in future,” the statement said.