Trade Arabia reported that Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International is eyeing project tenders in Iraq in the H2 of 2011 as it looks to break into new markets and diversify its income.
Ms Zeina Tabari chief corporate affairs officer of DSI said that Drake, whose biggest market is Saudi Arabia, is also keeping a close eye on political unrest in Egypt, where it is bidding for USD 200 million to USD 300 million worth of projects.
She said that the majority of our contracts this year will be from the GCC. We have a business development team in Iraq but it is a new market for us and will take some time to start tendering. Probably in the Q3 or Q4.
Gulf companies see growing opportunities to invest in Iraq in sectors, including energy, telecoms, finance and infrastructure as the war torn nation battles to recover from years of bloodshed.
Drake, which specializes in mechanical, engineering and plumbing businesses has a project backlog of AED 7.6 billion of which AED 2.7 billion has been won since the start of 2011.
Ms Tabari declined to give an expected figure for the year end, citing uncertainty over tenders in Egypt. We are bidding for USD 200 million to USD 300 million worth of contracts there. So far clients have indicated that the projects will continue. Drake won USD 126.6 million contract in Egypt in January and the project is on track.
The firm has been rapidly expanding its operations outside Dubai, where house prices have plunged some 60% since their peaks in 2008 as a result of the financial crisis. It is also bidding for about Dh5 billion worth of projects in all its markets including AED 4 billion worth of work in Qatar.
Ms Tabari said that outside the Gulf, Drake is tendering for work in Vietnam and Djibouti but does not see contract wins there until the fourth quarter of 2012.
She said that the company expected revenues of around AED 623 million in the Q1 and Q2 of 2011 in line with the Q4 figure as revenues from Saudi Arabia and other contracts won last year kick in. The contractor made a fourth quarter profit of AED 41 million unchanged from the year ago period while competition and acquisition costs hampered full year earnings.
(Sourced from Trade Arabia)
