Arabian Business reported that Dubai based contractor Drake & Scull International recorded Q3 net profit of AED 71 million and said that it continued to review expansion opportunities in the region.

The statement said that Drake, which specialises in mechanical, engineering and plumbing businesses and listed on the Dubai Financial Market in March made a net profit of AED 239 million in the first 9 months of 2009 up nearly 50% from the same period in 2008.

Mr Khaldoun Tabari the firm's CEO said that "With resilient cash flow and abundant liquidity, DSI successfully enhanced profitable returns in the first 9 months of 2009 despite the slowdown in the construction industry."

Mr Roy Cherry VP research, real estate and construction at Shuaa Capital said that "We have a positive outlook on the company. The company is expanding across the GCC and we expect them to announce an acquisition soon."

In August Drake said that it was bidding for contracts worth about AED 700 million in the Gulf and said the first of 3 planned acquisitions in the region would happen by the end of September. Revenue for the 9 month period was AED 1.4 billion up from AED 1 billion in 2008. Revenues for the quarter were AED 400 million and fell YoY due to reduced productivity because of the mandatory reduction of working hours on project sites during the summer period.

(Sourced from Arabianbusiness.com)