Dubai-Mubasher: As the current regional construction sector remains extremely challenging Drake & Scull International (DSI) took a pre-emptive and prudent view of exposure related to key projects and introduced cost efficiency measures to preserve cash and initiatives to cut debt, according to Khaldoun Tabari, CEO and Vice-Chairman of Drake & Scull International.
“Longer-term we remain confident about the prospects for the company,” said Tabari .
The company is awarded AED 2.4 billion worth of new projects year to date, despite the challenging market environment.
The engineering and general contracting businesses constituted 78% and 22% of total awards, respectively.
DSI’s substantial order backlog of over 160 projects stood at AED 12.35 billion as of 30 September 2015.
The UAE, Oman and Kuwait markets represented 73%, 15% and 12% of the new awards, respectively.
Kuwait and the UAE are still the largest markets for DSI, accounting for 32% and 20% of the total backlog respectively.
The development of the regional rail networks, urban transportation projects in the MENA region is poised to enter a period of rapid growth, the statement said, adding that around AED 5 billion worth of rail projects are currently in the tender pipeline.
