Tuesday, 10 May 2011 at 09:48, Reuters, Dubai
Arabtec's first-quarter net profit slumped 80 per cent, missing analysts estimates, the Dubai builder said on Tuesday.
The largest builder in the United Arab Emirates by market value made a net profit after minority interest of Dh26.6 million ($7.24 million) in the three months to March 31, compared with a net profit of Dh134.5m in the same period last year.
Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the company to post a net profit of Dh58.2m for the period.
Revenue for the quarter was Dh1.24 billion compared with Dh1.55bn for the year earlier period, Arabtec said in a bourse statement.
No other details of the results were immediately available. Arabtec said it will release the full report as soon as the final documents are prepared.
Arabtec is expanding overseas to diversify its portfolio away from Dubai's once-booming property sector which has been hit hard by the global financial crisis as developers slow or cancel projects and jobs are slashed.
In April, Nomura said Arabtec and Drake and Scull International may post improved quarterly profits as doubtful debt provisioning is likely to be lower in the quarter.
Property prices in Dubai have been under pressure since late 2009, when the financial crisis and a slump in oil prices ended a six-year economic boom in the Gulf region.
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