Hamish Tyrwhitt steps down as group CEO of Arabtec Holdings after drop in Q1 2019 results
Peter Pollard, current group CFO appointed as acting group CEO
The board of Arabtec Holding, a leading contractor based in the UAE, has announced that group chief executive officer Hamish Tyrwhitt has stepped down with on May 15, 2019.
In a statement, the board confirmed Tyrwhitt’s departure and added that Peter Pollard, the current group chief financial officer, has been appointed as acting group CEO. Pollard joined the company in April 2017 and has held various executive roles in both the construction and property sectors in the UAE, Asia and Australia.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Hamish for his efforts and we look forward to supporting Peter in his role as Acting GCEO. Peter has been instrumental in driving the company forward, in line with the Group’s strategic priorities. Peter will continue to focus on aligning our business with the UAE’s national agenda, productivity, efficiency and innovation being key drivers in positioning Arabtec as a competitive business and developing the future Emirati leaders who joined the Group during 2018,” the board said in the statement.
The announcement came on the same day that the contractor announced its financial results for Q1 2019, where it recorded a net profit to parent of $8.65 million on revenue of $544.5 million, for the first quarter ending March 31, 2019. The group’s backlog stood at $4 billion, it added.
In Q1 2019, the group experienced a contraction in margins year-on-year, attributable to lower revenue due to a slowdown in awards in the construction sector, coupled with a number of legacy projects closing out in the coming months.
Additionally, the group recognised a $2.12 million loss on its investment in Depa, following the release of their financial statements.
In line with the Group’s strategic priority, to strengthen the balance sheet, debt reduced by $67.7 million in the quarter, and the net debt to equity ratio was unchanged at 0.6x at 31 March 2019 compared to 1.4x at 31 March 2018. The Group is progressing with the refinancing of its term debt which will provide a sustainable platform aligned with the Group’s requirements.
“We remain confident that, with the strong pipeline of opportunities across our addressable markets, we will see more awards in the coming quarters across the construction and industrial sectors. We continue to focus selectively on countries that offer a strong, sustainable pipeline of construction, infrastructure and industrial opportunities including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt,” Pollard said
