Arab spring to impact Depa earnings

Depa, a Dubai-based interior contracting company, warned on Thursday that uncertainty generated by the Arab spring has delayed the signing of a number of projects in the Middle East North Africa region and this lag effect will impact expectations for full year earnings. The company's backlog of contracts at the end of June stood at Dh2.3 billion, similar to the amount at end of March. During the first six months of the year it signed Dh800 million of new projects, it said in a statement posted on the Nasdaq Dubai website. "Depa is making good progress on all the projects on which it is currently active and continues to see good gross profit margins," it said. "Interim results will reflect the normal seasonality of the business with a significant weighting of revenues and earnings to the second half." The company is due to report interim results in mid-August. In terms of new contracts, Depa said it has been awarded the interior wall cladding and decorative corian packages for the new international terminal at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport worth Dh110 million. "This is an important contract as Depa continues to develop its presence in this fast growing market," it added. "The company is also currently carrying out interior contracting work at the Ritz Carlton, Bangalore and ITC Grand Hotel, Chennai." Depa shares closed trading Thursday 1.9% lower at $0.51. From / Gulf News