EEI says Saudi Arabia unit not much affected by MidEast turmoil

MANILA, Philippines - Yuchengco-led construction firm EEI Corp. said yesterday the political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa, have not had any significant effect on the operations of its 49-percent-owned subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement issued yesterday, EEI said the King of Saudi Arabia recently announced $100 billion worth of projects for the benefit of Saudi nationals who have not fully benefitted from the largesse enjoyed by the royal family from the Kingdom’s oil revenues.

EEI recently reported that 2010 was a banner year for the company with its net earnings rising 16.7 percent to P657 million, exceeding its forecast.

Revenues from domestic construction contracts grew 30 percent to P5.2 billion with Al Rushaid Cosntruction Corp., a joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, forging several significant deals.

 EEI’s current orders backlog, which represents the value of workable production from existing contracts, stands at P27 billion, 64 percent of which will be generated from projects overseas.

In the last few months, EEI was awarded several new local projects worth P2.5 billion.

Al Rushaid is completing work on the Shuqaiq independent water and power plant and the Qurayyah power plant, both under Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the NCP ethylene plant and the Manifa gas oil separation plants, both under JGC.