Rising revenue in US offsets decline in Egypt for Orascom
Construction group Orascom’s revenue fell more than 19% to US$3.4 billion in 2023 amid tough trading conditions in its home market of Egypt.
But a stronger performance in the USA helped to offset some of the decline. Orascom’s revenue in the Middle East and Africa was down more than a third (35.7%) to $1.8 billion. But it increased in the US by 14.2% to nearly $1.6 billion.
Orascom owns US subsidiaries Weitz, based in Des Moines, Iowa, and Contrack Watts, based in Virginia. In 2023, its US subsidiaries signed nearly $2 billion in new awards, which was a 52.3% increase. The group has been expanding in areas such as data centres, airports and commercial projects.
Weitz also won a large contract to build the first phase of the new terminal at Des Moines International Airport.
Despite an ongoing economic crisis in Egypt, Orascom signed $3.8 billion of new awards in the country and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023, of which $1.3 billion came during the final quarter.
The business signed contracts to build a new phase of the Greater Cairo Metro Line 4 and to execute the MEP works for all 23 stations of the Green Line high-speed railway. It also signed contracts for a new fertilizer plant and a private sector development on Egypt’s north coast.
The company also owns a 50% share of the Besix Group. Its order backlog stands at €5.1 billion (US$5.5 billion), which was down 3.1% year on year.