Orascom Construction, a Cairo-based construction firm led by Egypt’s richest family, has added $1.8 billion in new projects to its backlog of active construction projects in Q2 2022.
The late Egyptian businessman Onsi Sawiris founded Orascom Construction, a multinational engineering, and construction firm, in 1950. Through OS Private Trust Company, the billionaire Sawiris family owns 51.8 percent of the leading contractor, while one of his sons, Egypt’s richest man Nassef Sawiris, owns 28.97 percent.
According to a press release issued by the group, the new projects increased the total number of awards associated with the group by 55 percent to $2.4 billion in 2022.
The group disclosed that projects in Egypt accounted for 70 percent of the new awards during Q2 2022, as the group expanded its role in developing Egypt’s new high-speed rail system and signed a new 1,325-kilometer phase for the rail project.
It also stated that new awards in the United States, which were primarily large data center and commercial projects, accounted for 30 percent of the new projects for the quarter, with the group’s estimated consolidated backlog standing at $6.4 billion as of June 2022.
According to experts, the increase in the total number of awards associated with the group will increase its earnings as the group navigates through murky waters in its operating environment following a stellar performance at the end of 2021.
Orascom Construction reported profits of $15.3 million in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of more than 43.1 percent from the $26.9 million reported in the first quarter of 2021.
Despite a 20-percent increase in revenue from $816.6 million to $979.9 million, the group’s earnings power was hampered by a surge in direct costs above $880 million, combined with an increase in operating expenses during the period under review.
Orascom Construction CEO Osama Bishai commented on the financial performance, stating: “We indicated in the previous quarter that we expected to experience challenges associated with the changing global economic environment.”
