(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Arabtec Holding Co's stock fell after three top executives resigned following the departure of its chief executive officer 13 months ago in a management shakeup.
Shares of the UAE's biggest publicly-traded construction company closed at the lowest level in a month. The company accepted the resignation of group chief financial officer Iyad Abdal Rahim; group chief human resources and administration officer Yazan Hatamleh and group general counsel Wassel al-Fakhoury, according to a statement to the Dubai bourse.
Their departures are part of the company's reorganisation plan to cut costs. Arabtec was at the heart of a selloff in June 2014 after CEO Hasan Ismaik resigned and a number of top managers were dismissed amid speculation that the construction company was losing government backing.
Ravi Murthy, who has worked at Arabtec for 18 years, was appointed acting group chief financial officer.
"There's an initial negative reaction over the resignations because people would feel nervous about the direction the company is taking, but this is a positive move for Arabtec in the long run," Wadah al-Taha, the Dubai-based chief investment officer of Al Zarooni Group, said by phone. "I'm sure you will see some more positions eliminated or merged and some organisational restructuring will take place at the group level."
Arabtec's stock declined 2.8% to 2.48 dirhams. Dubai's DFM General Index dropped 1.4%.
Arabtec this year reduced the number of board members to five and excluded chairman Khadem al-Qubaisi as well as founder Riad Kamal.
The construction company, which helped build the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai, reported a first-quarter loss of 279.8mn dirhams ($76mn) compared with a 137.9mn-dirham profit in the same period last year, as direct costs rose 28%.
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