Dubai-based Depa, a global leader in interior contracting, said it has registered a 22 per cent growth in its revenue for the first half which soared to Dh1.01 billion ($274.9 million) compared to Dh825 million last year.

Announcing the results for the six months period ended June 30, 2013, Depa said overall, the company’s operations resulted in a gross profit of Dh131 million compared to Dh34 million last year and a net profit after minority interest of Dh33 million, a significant increase as compared to a loss of Dh110 million in the first half of 2012.

The Dubai firm also witnessed a major improvement in contract margins, with gross margins returning to a healthy average of 13 per cent, up from 4 per cent in the first half of 2012.

The general and administrative expenses of the company also decreased significantly to Dh88.5 million during the period compared to Dh173.4 million last year.

The revenue of Depa's Abu Dhabi unit for the first half surged 159 per cent to hit Dh101 million over Dh39 million last year. The other subsidiaries that achieved revenue of more than Dh100 million in the first half include Depa Interiors, Design Studio, Depa Design Studio, and Lindner Middle East.

This growth is a result of the interior fit-out phase of the construction cycle coming into play in the GCC.

The balance sheet remains strong with total assets as on 30 June 2013 standing at Dh3.16 billion which is marginally up from total assets of Dh3.14 billion as at 31 December 2012.

Commenting on the results, CEO Mohannad Sweid said: "We are committed to restructuring our operations during the downturn to position the business for the overall economic recovery. We did this by focusing on diversifying our geographical reach and increasing the flow of business in our core markets whilst streamlining our management and processes."

"These interim results are indicative of the strong performance and successful turnaround we have achieved. Our first half revenues are above Dh1 billion mark for only the second time in our history, we have posted a solid net profit and our backlog numbers remain strong," he stated.

According to Sweid, the backlog, as of 30 June 2013, had reached Dh3 billion compared to Dh2.7 billion last year. "The 11 per cent jump in backlog originated from an increase in contracts related to projects in Saudi Arabia and Europe," he revealed.

Saudi Arabia now represents 27 per cent of the backlog, compared with 14 per cent at the same time last year. Europe’s backlog has also risen to 15 per cent, from 7 per cent, as Depa’s German-based yacht fit-out division booked over Dh235 million of new contracts.-TradeArabia News Service