Arabtec to use $272mn reserves to wipe out losses

A meeting of shareholders in Dubai-listed construction firm Arabtec Holding has approved a plan to use 1bn dirhams ($272mn) of the company’s statutory reserves to wipe out some of its accumulated losses.
The company has been struggling with a difficult industry environment as Gulf economies slow and governments restrain spending because of low oil prices.
The 1bn dirhams will cover 44% of the company’s accumulated losses, leaving a reserves balance of 148mn dirhams, officials said.
Arabtec has hired restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners to help it strengthen its capital structure and reform its business.
Vice chairman Mohamed al-Mehairi said the work of advisers in drawing up a restructuring plan was “going very well and should be completed very soon”.
In 2014, Arabtec agreed in principle to build 1mn homes for middle-income Egyptians by 2020 in a $35bn project, but the company and the Egyptian government have not agreed on specifics since then, and Egyptian officials have said talks are now focusing on much smaller numbers of housing units.
Saeed al-Mehairbi, acting group chief executive of Arabtec, said of the Egyptian project on Wednesday: “We put conditions that suit us as contractors and they haven’t got back to us yet.”
Arabtec shareholders also approved the appointment of two new members to an expanded seven-person board: Tariq al-Masood and Ghannam al-Mazrouei.