Dubai’s Arabtec says project wins to boost 2013 earnings

Arabtec Holding expects a series of recent contract wins to boost its 2013 earnings and the Dubai contractor is targeting a dividend payout of at least 10 percent for the year, its chief executive said.

Arabtec, part-owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar, won another project worth 810 million dirhams ($220.5 million) to build a five-star hotel and serviced apartment tower in Dubai, it said in a bourse statement on Wednesday.

The company, which diversified to other Gulf states amid Dubai’s property downturn, has won several contracts in recent months, especially in oil-rich Abu Dhabi where its top shareholder and state investment firm Aabar is based.

It is currently part of a consortium building a $2.9 billion airport terminal in Abu Dhabi and a branch of the famous Paris Louvre museum.

“We are now starting work on several projects, so the company should see a positive impact on earnings towards the end of the year,” Hasan Ismaik, Arabtec’s chief executive officer said in the statement.

A planned dividend payout of at least 10 percent per annum is expected to take effect from 2013, he said. The company did not pay a dividend in 2012.

Ismaik was appointed as CEO in February as part of a management shake-up led by Aabar, which has been tightening its grip on the group.

The new management announced plans for a $1.8 billion capital increase as part of its expansion strategy and also inked a joint venture deal with Korea’s Samsung Engineering Co.

The company is set to begin subscription for a $650m rights issue on June 9.