The UAE construction firm Drake & Skull has narrowed its accumulated losses for 2024 to 2.08 billion dirhams ($566 million), down from the AED 5.5 billion reported earlier, following a year of restructuring, raising new equity and pursuing legal cases to collect on outstanding receivables.

The Dubai-listed firm posted a profit of AED 3.76 billion in 2024, an improvement on the AED 367 million loss reported in 2023.

Revenue for the year was reported at AED 103.7 million, up from AED 86.3 million in FY 2023, marking a 20% growth. Total assets also witnessed an uptick to AED 647 million from AED 315.4 million year-on-year.

Year of restructuring

Last year, DSI emerged from a restructuring process that spanned nearly six years. The company resumed trading on the Dubai Financial Market last May after an absence of five and a half years amidst a write-off of debts, legal provisions and bank interest amounting to AED 4.1 billion as it returned from the verge of bankruptcy amidst losses spiralling over AED 5 billion.

The Dubai-based contractor said its restructuring has now led to liabilities write-back of AED 3.79 billion and conversion of AED 368 million liabilities into Mandatory Convertible Sukuks.

Drake & Skull saw its liquidity position improve further following an AED 454 million raise through a share capital issuance last year.

Sheikh Theyab bin Tahnoun bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board spoke about the company’s outlook for the year: “The strategic debt reduction and fresh capital injection have strengthened our balance sheet, enabling us to focus on sustainable growth. We are now well-positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the MENA region and beyond, as we continue to execute our growing pipeline of infrastructure and construction projects.”

(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)

bindu.rai@lseg.com