Eversendai expects net profit to hit RM90m mark

By Sharen Kaur (Published in NST on September 14  2009

EVERSENDAI Group expects net profit in its current financial year to reach the RM90 million mark, helped by cost- cutting measures and consolidation of its business.

For the year ended December 31 2008, Eversendai posted a net profit of RM71 million on RM797 million in turnover.

This year, Eversendai is expecting record profits, on the back of RM900 million in revenue, largely backed by recently secured contracts worth RM500 million in the Middle East.

The company is also bidding for new jobs in the Middle East to replenish its RM1.5 billion order book.

"Even though the market is bleak, Eversendai is able to withstand the crises and do better than in previous years," its founder and managing director Datuk A.K. Nathan said.

Thus far, Eversendai has won contracts to build a convention centre and the Nakilat Shipyard in Qatar for Qatar Petroleum, a high-rise corporate tower in Abu Dhabi, dubbed Capital Gate, and Dubai Pearl, a luxury condominium development in Dubai.

Nathan said Eversendai had consolidated its business and restructured the group's operation six months before the crises hit world markets last year.

"We were fortunate to do that before the turmoil. That has helped us to ride out the storm," he told Business Times in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

For example, Eversendai has been buying steel materials for its projects in advance, which are kept at its 100,000 sq m storage yard in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates.

"There is less concern on price fluctuation when we stock up steel a year in advance for the fabrication of structures for buildings," Nathan said.

Eversendai, set up in 1984, employs 6,000 people in Malaysia, India and the Middle East and is looking to hire more professionals as it seeks to expand its business.

"While there is stiffer competition in the Middle East, we are leveraging on our reputation to complete projects within schedule, without comprising on quality and safety. We expect more work later this year," he said.

Eversendai has fabrication factories in Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar and Malaysia with a combine capacity of 120,000 tonnes of fabricated steel per year.

Nathan said presently, the factories are running 24/7 to keep up with the group's workload.

(ENDS)