Arabtec posts Dh82m profit drop year on year for Q2

The Wires: Arabtec, one of the UAE's biggest construction companies, reports a profit drop of 74 per cent in the second quarter.

Arabtec Holding, the UAEs' biggest construction company by market value, reported a 74 per cent drop in second-quarter profit, missing analysts' estimates, as expenses increased.

Net income fell to Dh28.97 million ($7.9 million), or 2 fils a share, from Dh111m, or 7 fils, a year earlier, Arabtec said in a statement to Dubai's bourse today. The mean estimate of six analysts was for a profit of DH44m, according to data compiled Bloomberg.

Arabtec's second-quarter expenses surged 91 per cent to 94 million dirhams, while revenue dropped to Dh1.22 bn from Dh1.28bn dirhams a year earlier, the company said.

The shares dropped 7 per cent to 1.33 dirhams at 10:15 am in Dubai. The stock has dropped 16 per cent this year compared with a 11 per cent decline in the benchmark Dubai Financial Market General Index.