Abu Dhabi: Arabtec Holding, the Dubai-listed construction company, announced on Tuesday the appointment of Hamish Tyrwhitt as its new chief executive officer with effect from November 28, 2016.
In a statement posted to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Arabtec said Tyrwhitt will replace Saeed Al Mehairbi who had been serving as Acting CEO. Al Mehairbi will continue to serve as a director on the Arabtec board.
As Arabtec’s new CEO, Tyrwhitt will also retain his existing responsibilities as chief executive of Depa Group — a role he was appointed to in April 2016. Prior to that, he was CEO of Asia Resources Minerals, an Indonesian coal mining company listed in London, a role he was appointed to in March 2015.
Tyrwhitt also worked for 27 years at Leighton Holdings, a listed construction company in Australia, where he served as chief executive from 2011 to 2014.
The appointment comes as Arabtec scrambles to turn around its financial performance, having posted the eighth consecutive quarter of losses in the third quarter of 2016.
The company reported Dh225.5 million in losses for the third quarter of 2016, and a total of Dh458 million in losses for the first nine months of this year. The figures, though lower than the losses recorded in the same periods last year, missed market expectations, with the Bloomberg consensus at Dh78 million for third-quarter losses.
Arabtec’s shares rose 2.33 per cent on Tuesday to end trade at Dh1.32.
“[Hamish] has the experience necessary for Arabtec to further strengthen the company’s strategic and financial positioning and achieve its full growth potential. We are confident that Hamish’s leadership will allow Arabtec to move forward to a successful and sustainable future,” said Mohammad Al Rumaithi, Arabtec’s chairman.
