Arabtec shares took a big hit yesterday. Silvia Razgova / The National
Arabtec shares took a big hit yesterday. Silvia Razgova / The National

Dilution fears hit Arabtec



Arabtec Holding weighed down the Dubai bourse yesterday as the builder's stock slipped the most in nearly a year.

It signalled investor concern that Arabtec's capital increase plans may dilute the shares given the conversion price and as full-year profit missed estimates.

Shares of the country's biggest construction company by market value dropped 9.8 per cent, the most since March 8, to Dh2.67 in Dubai.

The stock was the biggest decliner on Dubai's benchmark Dubai Financial Market General Index, which slipped 1 per cent to 1,927. About 2.84 million shares of Arabtec were traded, a quarter of the three-month daily average.

The builder said on Wednesday it planned to raise US$1.74 billion through a rights issue and a convertible bond to fund internal growth, acquisitions and joint ventures. The company, which said it won't pay a dividend for last year to "preserve the net cash position", plans to issue 3.18 billion shares at Dh1.5 each and will sell $450m in convertible bonds. Full-year net income decreased 37 per cent, missing estimates.

"The convertible bond may have a dilutive effect," said Yazan Abdeen, who helps to oversee about $300m as ING Investment Management's Middle East and North Africa fund manager in Dubai. "There is a lot of uncertainty about the conversion price and the future backlog of the company, which can surprise on the upside or the downside."

Arabtec's fundraising comes as the Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments plays a bigger role in the company after last year raising its stake to 21.6 per cent. Four analysts recommend investors hold Arabtec shares, while nine say sell, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Arabtec's profit may more than double this year to Dh286m, according to the mean estimate of 11 analysts on Bloomberg.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index dipped 0.4 per cent to 3,044.89 points.

* Bloomberg News

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

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Score

Third Test, Day 1

New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat

The Old Slave and the Mastiff

Patrick Chamoiseau

Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale

If you go

Flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.

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Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.

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Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace

Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)

The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school

 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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Monday, Sept 30

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Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

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MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')

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The National photo project

Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).