Drake & Scull International PJSC, (DSI PJSC), a local market leader in the integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of General Contracting, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP), Rail & Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, and Water & Wastewater Treatment, reported today its financial outcomes for the very first quarter of the fiscal year ended March 31st, 2016.

The company reported a Year-on-Year (YoY) decline of 7% in profits, which stood at AED 1.03 billion in Q1 2016 as compared to AED 1.11 billion reported during the same duration in 2015. Net earnings throughout the first 3 months of 2016 was AED 9.52 million as compared to a net earnings of AED 27.85 million reported for the exact same duration last year. DSI's total backlog stood at AED 11.3 billion as of 31st March 2016, as compared with AED 13.8 billion reported during the exact same period in 2015.

Discussing the results, Khaldoun Tabari, CEO and Vice-Chairman of Drake & Scull International PJSC, said: "We are pleased to begin 2016 on a positive note by returning to success in the very first quarter of the year. The impacts of strategic choices and extraordinary measures started by DSI's management last year have started to materialize, and have actually aided our determined efforts to continue the refinement and consolidation of our businesses in our vital markets. We expect to continue making changes that will produce favorable effect on the bottom line in the next number of quarters. I believe that adjusting our business model to the present market obstacles is crucial to the success of our business."

" We will continue to focus on the effective usage of our Working Capital through monetary discipline with an aim to create totally free capital. Our austerity drive, which had been initiated in 2014 due to the brand-new financial truths of the regional industry, will assist us to sustain our efforts to streamline our expenses and lower our general SG&A, which we believe will have a favorable influence on our bottom line target this year. Our success, we remain committed to enhancing our liquidity, which stays one of the vital areas of focus for our corporate technique for the year," he added.

" We likewise continue to improve and enhance our operations and have actually enhanced our management with the current visits of Mr. Wael Allan as our very first Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Kailash Sadangi as our Chief Financial Officer, whose combined experience and know-how will complement and rejuvenate our operations and improve the synergy and efficiencies of our business streamlines," Tabari stated.

" Our Rail company continues to get traction as a result of its strategic alliances with global industry leaders, and is actively engaged with the region's leading rail network and infrastructure developers. The AED 343 million Doha Metro Depot and Yards task win is an indicator of the significant progress accomplished by our Rail company, which our company believe is strongly placed in the industry due to its considerable worldwide rail experience and competence which bodes well for our prospects of securing major rail development projects in our vital markets."

"We stay cautious about the financial potential customers of the area in the brief and midterm. We believe that our tactical focus on the pursuit of high margin company development capacity will be affected by the future advancement of the UAE market. The UAE Expo 2020 and Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 will continue to drive facilities financial investment and task announcements and we stay favorable about our potential customers of securing high margin development oriented projects for our Engineering and Rail businesses," stated Tabari.

"KSA, currently our largest market by backlog, will continue to be an important market for us, especially for high margin sectors like our Rail business and we will be extremely careful in establishing our presence while prudently consolidating our position in the kingdom's building sector. Saudi Arabia's vibrant and ambitious Vision 2030 is remarkable for its foresight and the announced reforms will help the kingdom achieve financial diversity. We are confident that the reforms will add positive momentum to the kingdom's realty and facilities drive in the years ahead.

We reiterate our commitment to reinforcing our operational principles through a continuous and vigilant process of refinement. We expect 2016 to be a difficult year across the local market with considerable obstacles positioned by a volatile global economy. Our company believe that our distinct blend of unrivaled international experience, versatile company model and strategic presence in crucial local markets will help us to gain from a rise in our primary markets in the brief and long term. Our proactive strategic initiatives and revamped management structure because of the new reality in our regional market have actually helped us to soak up the effect of the general stagnation in the regional industry, and we intend to sustain our performance by securing more high margin projects while enhancing our bottom line growth for the remainder of the year," concluded Tabari.