Special structural steel and power plant contractor, Eversendai Corp Bhd, expects to register an annual turnover of RM2
billion within the next five years from RM1.03 billion registered last year.

Its executive chairman/managing director, Datuk A.K. Nathan, said the company, with a proven track record in the Gulf region, India and Malaysia, had experienced a steady growth in revenue since 2008, except for 2010.

"We have developed a masterplan and the future looks bright. We are looking to expand to Asean and the Commonwealth of Independent States. We have bid for a project in Azerbaijan and is still waiting for the tender process to be finalised.

"In Asean, Vietnam and Indonesia look promising while Myanmar is on our long-term plan," he said at a media briefing here today.

With the company's order book this year projected to be around RM1.5 billion, Nathan said, Eversendai would focus on its core businesses and look to acquire firms which were inter-related.

"We are also looking at fabrication works in the oil and gas industry. This is a big segment in Malaysia as well as in the Middle East and India. We have applied for a licence to undertake fabrication works in Malaysia from Petronas.

"Up to end-February this year, we have secured projects worth over RM467 million, among them, Tanjung Bin power plant and the Qatar Foundation headquarters.

"It is almost half of the total order book that we had last year (RM1.07 billion)," Nathan said.

He said Eversendai expected its core businesses to contribute 75 per cent and the new businesses the rest to the projected RM1.5 billion turnover in 2015.

Eversendai posted a pre-tax profit of RM136.02 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011 on revenue of RM1.03 billion.

Its Middle East operations (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar) contributed 86.3 per cent to revenue while its operations in India and Malaysia accounted for 6.3 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively.

Among the 28 projects secured last year were Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, Manjung power plant, Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal, Doha International Airport (phase three) and King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre.

As at Dec 31, 2011, its order book stood at RM1.4 billion with some 56 per cent represents projects in the Middle East, 31 per cent in India and 13 per cent in Malaysia.

"Projects worth RM786.4 million would be realised this year. This is another reason why we are confident that our turnover will continue to grow until it achieves the target in 2015.

"Malaysia has grown tremendously and I believe from this year onwards, the contribution slice from Malaysia would increase significantly," he said.

Nathan said other than Malaysia, the prospects in the Middle East were also good given that Qatar would be hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, and the preparatory works were scheduled to be opened for tender in another one or two years.

He said Eversendai would bid for RM12 billion worth of infrastructure development projects worldwide, with its usual success rate of around 20 per cent.

Nathan said the company was also in the midst of building a steel
fabrication plant in Trichy, India, which would boost the company's steel output by 24,000 tonnes per annum, bringing the total capacity to some 168,000 tonnes.

The factory, slated to be operational between six and eight months, would add to the list of four steel fabrication plants in Rawang, Sharjah, Qatar and Dubai. -- Bernama