Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International appointed a new chairman on Tuesday following the resignation of Abdulla Atatreh, and also approved the resignation of the company’s group chief executive as it continues a financial restructure.
The Dubai-listed engineering and construction company said it appointed existing board member Obaid Bin Touq as chairman, after Mr Atatreh stepped down.
Mr Bin Touq is a former police officer who has headed up a string of UAE businesses including Bin Touq Transport, of which he is vice chairman, and Bin Touq Fire & Safety, which he chairs. He is also chairman of Bin Touq Facilities Management, which was founded in 2017.
Group chief executive Yousef Al Mulla also resigned, DSI said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded. Until a replacement is appointed, the management of the company will be carried under the supervision of the board of directors.
Abdulla Al Matrooshi was appointed as a board member to replace a previous member who also left the company, DSI added.
Since 2016, DSI has worked to scale down operations and non-performing business streams, while increasing focus on core markets, to narrow widening losses due to challenging conditions in the regional construction industry in the past few years.
The company last month posted a net loss of Dh498 million for the third quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of Dh181m in the previous quarter.
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DSI attributed the loss to the “final phase of the close-out of the company’s legacy projects - part of the ongoing restructuring programme which includes the assessment of all current and legacy projects”, it said in a bourse statement in November.
Further losses are expected in the fourth quarter as other legacy projects are closed and handed over, the company added. At the same time, it appointed external restructuring advisers to commence the next phase of the restructure.
In the meantime, DSI will pursue “ongoing measures to accelerate bidding efforts for new projects”, it added in a bourse statement in November.
