CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt’s biggest listed builder and fertilizer maker, said second-quarter net profit rose 41 percent, helped by strong nitrate-based fertilizer prices.
The company said on Monday it made a net profit of $144 million, above a range of $108.8 million to $140.4 million given by nine brokers and bankers in a Reuters poll. The average forecast was $126.8 million.
"The revenues seem good. The backlog slightly declined, which is an ongoing trend. I like the results on first glance," said Beltone analyst Omar Taha.
Orascom Construction said revenue rose 23 percent to $1.34 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 44 percent to $269.4 million.
The value of its backlog of unfinished projects dipped 3.4 percent from the end of March to $6.3 billion, stung by a weaker euro.
It also said it won $670 million worth of new contracts in the quarter, bringing its total for the first half of 2010 to $1.47 billion. Infrastructure work made up well over two-thirds of new awards, it said.
"While Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC) reported weaker results as a result of softer urea prices, OCI Nitrogen capitalized on the strong pricing environment for nitrate-based fertilizers offsetting the impact of urea prices," OCI said.
Ashraf Akhnoukh, senior equity sales trader at CIBC Brokerage, said Orascom’s results were not enough to prompt a more significant share price move. "This result is not enough for the stock to rally much today," he said.
The group declared a cash dividend of $1 per share to be paid in September.
