By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Arabtec Holding’s stock surged on Wednesday following the approval of its ordinary general meeting (OGM) a day earlier to continue with the company’s operations and the endorsement of the firm’s capital restructure programme, in addition to turning profitable in the first quarter of 2017.

By 12:05 pm, Arabtec’s stock grew 8.9% to AED 0.915, registering a turnover of AED 57.99 million after 63.99 million shares were traded on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

On Tuesday, the company’s OGM approved decisions to continue operations and restructure its capital.

Arabtec’s OGM approvals have helped reduce investor fears regarding the non-continuity of the leading company’s operations, which has positively reflected on the DFM as a whole, commented market analyst Ahmed Ismail.

What also supports Arabtec’s position is its turn to profits in the first quarter as well as having a backlog of projects, the analyst told Mubasher.

He noted that the Dubai-listed company’s biggest problem at the moment is reducing the high costs of its operations compared to its profits; an issue Arabtec has been suffering from for some time.

Arabtec’s restructure involves raising capital to AED 6.115 billion from its current AED 4.615 billion and issuing 1.5 billion shares at a par value of AED 1 per share, as a first step.

The second step involves cancelling up to 4.615 billion shares on a pro rata basis to reduce accumulated losses, bringing capital to AED 1.5 billion, according to a statement released last week.

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi