Cairo – Mubasher: The decline in profit margins of Orascom Construction Ltd, coupled with higher operating rates in the third quarter of 2015, weighed on the company’s revenues, said Pharos Research.

OC, listed in both Cairo and Dubai, reported an attributable net income of $24.5 million for Q3-15, bringing attributable net income for the first nine months of 2015 to $64.3 million, versus $34.0 million in Q2-15 and an attributable net loss of $89.9 million in 9M-14.

OC’s backlog stood at $6.7 billion (excluding its 50% stake in BESIX) by end 9M-15, versus the firm’s highest recorded backlog of $7.2 billion as of end H1-15.

The company said it will distribute dividends of $0.6 per share, which a yield of 5.1%; first payment of $0.18 per share in Q1 2016 and the second in Q3 2016.

OCI maintained healthy backlog level at $6.7 billion with new contracts signed primarily in Egypt and USA during the third quarter of 2015.

The company posted revenues of $3 billion in this nine-month period and EBITDA margin of 5.4%.

Meanwhile, the net income attributable to shareholders stood at $64.3 million in 9M 2015, which reflects continued improvement in bottom line performance.