Dubai : Interiors contractor Depa said yesterday that it posted a net profit of Dh82 million for the first six months of the year compared to Dh92 million in the same period last year.
In a filing to Nasdaq Dubai, Depa said the profit would be converted to a loss of Dh103.6 million if an outstanding interim claim relating to the Burj Khalifa project was not resolved.
Backlog increased to Dh2.4 billion as of August 25 compared to Dh2.1 billion at the end of the first six months of 2009. Project wins including a Dh104 million fit-out contract for International Petroleum Investment Company in Abu Dhabi and a Dh220 million fit-out of a five-star hotel in Angola.
"Our underlying business is proving to be resilient in tough economic times. We continue to have a healthy cash position and strong backlog and our ability to win significant projects, in both established and new territories, reflects our strengths, our brand distinction and market leading position," chief executive Mohannad Sweid said in a statement.
New projects
"We remain well positioned for a recovery and are in discussions with potential clients over exciting new projects in different locations. We will keep pursuing our diversification strategy which has proven to be very successful and has helped us weather the downturn."
The company continues to focus on sector and geographical diversification, it said. It reported strong revenue growth in Abu Dhabi and Singapore and project wins in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China.
Infrastructure revenue was up 24 per cent to Dh82 million compared to Dh66 million for the same period of 2009. Cash-flow from operating activities stood at Dh35.6 million compared to a negative flow of Dh15 million for the first six months of 2009.
In the period under review, Depa faced "one outstanding interim claim relating to the Burj Khalifa project, which has had a significant impact on the company's interim results", the statement said.
