Business | Property
Depa plans to expand operations into Jordan in coming months
Interior contracting firm Depa is planning its entry into Jordan in the coming months as part of its regional expansion plans, according to company officials.
- By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:36 June 9, 2008
Dubai: Interior contracting firm Depa is planning its entry into Jordan in the coming months as part of its regional expansion plans, according to company officials.
Mohannad Sweid, chief executive, told Gulf News that the company adds one to three countries to their portfolio every year.
"This year we will add Jordan in the coming months and we are positioned well in that market," he said.
"We started the expansion four years ago and it's something that will not stop," Sweid said.
The company carries out projects across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia and is considering Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain as part of future expansion plans.
In terms of specific markets, Sweid said: "The UAE is currently the strongest for us, but in time it will get smaller while other markets get larger."
He added that the Indian market is growing as well as South-East Asia and Saudi Arabia, "which are promising areas and will take up a bigger percentage of business from the UAE."
The company carried out eight acquisitions last year and recently signed a joint venture in Singapore, officials said.
Sweid said the company's growth rate varies from one country to another, but in general it is between 30 and 40 per cent. The market share is 25 to 50 per cent in the Mena region while in the UAE it is 27 to 30 per cent of the hotel segment.
The company, which will carry out the interior fitting for part of Burj Dubai, is currently working on 23 hotels, officials said.
The company specialises in luxury hotels and apartments, airports, hospitals, yachts and themed projects.
Their past projects include Burj Al Arab and the Emirates Palace hotel.
Officials said that over the last three years the company has achieved compound annual sales growth rate of 124 per cent. Nearly 18.5 per cent of its revenues come from outside the UAE.
Contract income increased 35.5 per cent to Dh1.42 billion last year and net profit increased 72.2 per cent to Dh160.5 million, according to reports.
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