Arabtec scoops Dh207m villa contract with Dubai Properties

The contracting division of Arabtec Holding won a Dh207 million contract to build 322 villas in Dubai Properties' Villanova project in Dubai, the company said on Sunday.

Villanova is a residential community in Dubailand, located at the intersection of the Dubai-Al Ain and Emirates Road. Arabtec has been building the previous five phases of the project for master developer Dubai Properties, the real estate arm of the Ruler of Dubai's investment vehicle Dubai Holding.

“The award to Arabtec Construction of our sixth phase at the Villanova development strengthens our long standing relationship with Dubai Properties and builds on our portfolio of projects,” said Peter Pollard, acting group chief executive of the company.

Arabtec Construction, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai-listed holding, will start work on the villas with immediate effect for a duration of 20 months, according to a filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where Arabtec’s shares are traded.

Last week, the board of Arabtec Holding accepted the resignation of its group chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt and appointed Mr Pollard to act as interim chief, after the contractor reported a 50 per cent decline in first-quarter net profit attributed to a slowdown in new contract awards.

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Net profit for the first three months of the year dropped to Dh31.8m, the company said last Wednesday. Revenue for the period dipped 16 per cent to Dh2 billion for the reporting period from Dh2.4bn a year-earlier.

It was the first quarterly loss for the company, which has reported profit increases in the past eight quarters following a restructure of its business and several exits from non-core assets.

This time last year, Arabtec said it more than tripled its net profit for the first quarter of 2018 as the company realised the benefits of its recapitalisation programme to cancel nearly Dh5bn of accumulated losses from previous years, when construction activity slowed in the wake of a three-year oil slump.