Al-Babtain Chairman says contracts may rise 20% in 2023

Al-Babtain Power and Telecommunication Co.'s Chairman Ibrahim Al-Babtain

Al-Babtain Power and Telecommunication Co.'s Chairman, Ibrahim Al Babtain, expects the volume of contracts sealed by the company this year to increase by 20% year-on-year (YoY).

In an interview with Argaam, he explained that infrastructure projects adopted by Saudi Arabia, the growth and development of which are evident based on the indicators of spending budget on major projects and economic cities, will be reflected on the company's projects in all segments, particularly, renewable energy projects that the Kingdom pays special attention to amid research and investment in various opportunities.

Al-Babtain stressed that the company is seeking to obtain project contracts in the fields of infrastructure and energy that will be announced by the Kingdom in the near future. This is in addition to expanding into wind power projects, as previously announced on the Saudi Exchange’s (Tadawul) website.

Commenting on the Q1 2023 financials, the chairman said these distinguished results were achieved on the back of efforts exerted by the company's management. This was reflected in the 55% YoY growth in sales, alongside improved selling prices in Q1 2023 versus the prior-year period, which was materialized on a 63% YoY net profit surge.

On debts and plans to cut financing costs (FCs), Al-Babtain pointed out that the company's total debt reached about SAR 1.82 billion by the end of Q1 2023, a decrease of 7.2% from Q1 2022. This included short- and long-term loans.

He pointed out that Al-Babtain is continuously working to enhance customer collections and control the volume of inventory to help improve cash flows, which will reduce FCs.

According to data available with Argaam, Al-Babtain's profit increased 63% to SAR 14.2 million by the end of the first quarter of 2023 from SAR 8.7 million in Q1 2022.