The interiors company Depa says it lost more than Dh100 million (US$27.2m) in the first half of the year, linking the loss to expenses relating to work done on the Burj Khalifa.
Depa is in negotiations to finalise an amount it will claim.
The company, based in Dubai, yesterday reported a loss of Dh103.6m for the first six months of the year, compared with a profit of Dh92m in the same period last year.
Depa said its claim was not against Emaar Properties, the master developer of the Burj Khalifa, but would not disclose the name of the entity involved, citing legal constraints.
And a statement from Emaar said the developer had "no direct contractual obligations with Depa nor has any claim been filed against Emaar".
Depa said Emaar had settled its bills with the company. "To date Emaar has paid every bill that we have submitted to them," said Noor Sweid, the managing director of strategy at Depa.
She said the claim against the unnamed company was "because the building was two years delayed and so for those two years we incurred expenses. As far as we're concerned, once our contract expired two years ago, what you submit thereafter isn't seen as a bill; it's seen as a claim."
A claim was normally submitted on completion of a project, Ms Sweid said.
"The kind of expenses we're talking about are predominantly overheads, the expenses of running a site - having your engineers there, having your architects there, having absolutely everybody on the site. For two years, that costs a lot of money."
She said the final size of Depa's claim was still under negotiation.
"Given that we're still there, we're still doing some snagging [fine tuning] for the apartments, it's a changing claim for every month."
Alterations to the interior design and the fact that one of the companies working on the project went bankrupt were the main reasons for the delay to the Burj Khalifa, Ms Sweid said.
"The main delay was because the company that was doing the curtain wall - that's all the gloss on the outside - went bankrupt. That delayed absolutely everybody," she said.
Ms Sweid said she had no doubt that Depa's claim would be settled.
"It's just a matter of when."
Depa asserted that despite the unpaid claim, the company remained healthy and was expecting growth for next year as it continued to focus on geographical and sector diversification.
Its recent project wins include a Dh104m fit-out contract for the International Petroleum Investment Company headquarters in Abu Dhabi and a Dh220m fit-out of a five-star hotel in Angola.
The company said were it not for the outstanding claim, "net profits (excluding the charge and including net provisions) would stand at Dh81m for [the first half] 2010, indicating a flat position compared to the same period last year".
Depa said it was continuing to increase the share of revenues and projects from outside of Dubai, particularly from Singapore and Abu Dhabi. It said its revenues from its Abu Dhabi operations were up 51 per cent to Dh195.3m from the first half of last year.
The company added that it had won significant projects in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
Afcon 2019
SEMI-FINALS
Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm
Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm
Matches are live on BeIN Sports
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
The specs: 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
Power: 204hp
Torque: 360Nm
Range: 520km (claimed)
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
