Depa, the Dubai interior contractor that fitted out the Burj Khalifa, is the latest company in the construction sector to warn that turmoil in the Middle East is driving down revenue.
The delay of several large contracts in the region will "dampen full-year market expectations", it said yesterday. The company's backlog of contracts stood at US$2.3 billion (Dh8.44bn) at the end of last month, unchanged from March, the company said.
Shares in the stock fell 2 per cent yesterday to close at 51 US cents a share.
"It appears revenues are much lower than expectations," said Majed Azzam, an analyst with AlembicHC.
Several construction companies and contractors have been affected by the Arab Spring, including Arabtec, the UAE's largest construction company, which reported a 30 per cent drop in revenue in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.
"It's not just Depa facing issues," Mr Azzam said. "It seems to be the theme with contractors."
The value of construction contracts in the Middle East and North Africa region dropped 34 per cent last month compared with June last year, according to a report released this week by Citi Investment Research and Analysis. Overall project award growth is at its lowest rate since March last year, in part due to the Arab Spring, the report said.
"It doesn't mean projects are not going to happen, but it is slowing down the market," said Heidy Rehman, an analyst with Citi.
One of the casualties is Egypt, which has awarded only $347 million worth of projects in the first six months of this year.
"Egypt construction spending has more or less stopped," Ms Rehman said. Depa has been aggressively diversifying its business away from Dubai, including a push into Asia with the Dh295m purchase in August last year of Design Studio, a Singapore company.
Eighty-five per cent of its backlog was outside Dubai, the company reported in March.
Also last year the company was awarded its first contracts in Syria and Yemen. A Dh72m contract to fit out the Yasmeen Rotana Hotel in Damascus is one of the company's contracts delayed by the Arab Spring, a spokesman for Depa confirmed. The company declined further comment.
Depa signed about Dh800m in contracts in the first half of the year, the company reported. The new deals include a Dh110m contract for interior wall work for the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.
"This is an important contract as Depa continues to develop its presence in this fast-growing market," the company said.
Depa also has a contract for the interior fit-out of the spa in Port Baku Towers in Azerbaijan.
kbrass@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Two-litre%20four-cylinder%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E235hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nine-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh167%2C500%20(%2445%2C000)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”