Orascom Construction (EGX: ORAS) reported a consolidated construction backlog of USD 10,879.0 million as of 30 June 2026, a record for the group and 13.9% higher than a year earlier. The contractor published the figure on 14 August 2026 in a results announcement issued jointly from Abu Dhabi and Cairo, alongside second quarter revenue of USD 1,509.6 million, EBITDA of USD 92.6 million and net profit attributable to shareholders of USD 61.9 million.
For the first half the group reported revenue of USD 2,978.0 million, up 52.3% year on year, EBITDA of USD 200.9 million, up 71.1%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of USD 115.3 million, up 90.0%. The prior year comparatives exclude a USD 22.0 million non-operational gain recognised in the Middle East and Africa segment relating to the outcome of legal cases in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. On a reported basis first half 2025 EBITDA and net profit were USD 139.4 million and USD 82.7 million.
Where the backlog came from
New awards drove the increase. Consolidated new awards rose 41.9% to USD 4,829.8 million in the first half and 67.0% to USD 2,945.9 million in the second quarter. Including the group’s 50% share in BESIX, pro forma backlog was USD 14,466.6 million, up 3.7%, and pro forma new awards were USD 5,751.5 million in the half.
The United States accounted for most of the momentum. Backlog there rose 50.3% year on year and 36.2% quarter on quarter to USD 3,963.7 million, and new awards of USD 2,025.5 million in the second quarter took the half year total to USD 2,762.6 million. The company said awards in the United States represented 68.8% of total new awards in the second quarter, led by data centres, where the portfolio of completed and under construction projects now exceeds 2 GW across multiple hyperscalers and developers. The group also secured a multi-family high-rise development in Denver and completed precast erection at the Vantage Data Centers campus in Wisconsin.
Middle East and Africa backlog was stable year on year and rose 6.9% quarter on quarter to USD 6,915.3 million, with new awards of USD 920.4 million in the quarter and USD 2,067.2 million in the half. Contracts signed in the period include works in Tunisia for the Elmed project, a 600 MW interconnection between Italy and Tunisia that the company describes as the first high voltage direct current connection between Europe and Africa, and two 900 MW wind farms in Egypt, one for the group’s own concessions portfolio and one for an international developer. Operational milestones listed for the quarter include completion of the 56 km East of Nile Monorail, the start of tunnelling on Greater Cairo Metro Line 4 and further sections of the first phase of the 2,000 km high-speed rail network.
BESIX moved the other way. Its standalone backlog fell 16.1% year on year to EUR 6,293.9 million, while new awards rose 13.7% to EUR 1,613.8 million in the half. The BESIX contribution to net profit fell 50.0% to USD 6.6 million. Orascom Construction received a dividend of USD 11.5 million from BESIX for its 50% share during the quarter.
Cash, concessions and safety
The group recorded an operating cash outflow of USD 80.7 million in the second quarter, which it attributed to working capital timing in Egypt related to higher billings and projects under approval, resulting in higher debt levels.
In concessions, the group is working towards financial close on a 900 MW build own operate wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, a 25-year project that would lift total wind capacity to 1.8 GW from existing operational capacity of 912.5 MW across two wind farms. Project Wave, a 30-year seawater treatment and supply build own operate transfer scheme in Abu Dhabi, is in testing and commissioning of key components. Operational concessions distributed USD 6.1 million to the group in the half. The building materials, equipment services and facility management segment contributed net profit of USD 8.0 million, or 6.9% of the group total.
The lost time injury frequency rate across Middle East and Africa operations was 0.45 over 110.1 million man-hours, and 0.00 across 3.1 million man-hours in the United States.
Analysis: the mix shift is doing more work than the growth rate
The headline is a record backlog, but the number that explains the results is the geographic split. The share of backlog from the United States and regional Middle East and Africa markets rose to 54.7% from 47.0% a year earlier, and one quarter earlier the same measure stood at 41.0% against the prior year. Backlog itself has climbed from USD 9,379.5 million at 31 March 2026 to USD 10,879.0 million at 30 June 2026, so the growth and the rotation happened together rather than in sequence.
Margins show why that matters. United States EBITDA rose 219.3% to USD 69.6 million in the half while the segment margin went from 2.7% to 4.7%, and Middle East and Africa EBITDA rose 37.3% to USD 131.3 million on a margin that moved from 8.3% to 8.7%. The regional business still earns more per dollar of revenue, but almost all of the incremental profit came from the American operation, where data centre work is the stated driver. The incremental profit in the half therefore came from the segment whose stated driver is data centre work, which is the variable the disclosed margin change turns on.
The offsetting item is cash. An operating outflow of USD 80.7 million in a quarter with record revenue is a working capital statement, not a profit statement, and the company links it directly to Egyptian billings and projects awaiting approval, with higher debt as the consequence. Backlog and new awards are also flagged in the announcement as non-IFRS metrics based on management estimates, unaudited and not verified by a third party. They indicate the size of contracts to be executed, not revenue that has been earned.
The disclosure does not settle the corporate question hanging over the shares. The long-stop date for conditions attached to the proposed combination with OCI Global N.V. has been extended to 30 December 2026, and the exchange ratio approved by Orascom Construction shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting on 22 January 2026 remains 0.4634 Orascom Construction shares per OCI share. Separately, OCI’s board said on 1 July 2026 that it recommends a voluntary all-cash offer from NNS Holding (Cyprus) Limited at EUR 4.10 cum dividend per share, and that court-appointed independent directors consented to convening a shareholder meeting on the Orascom transaction, with approval conditional on the NNS offer being declared unconditional and settled. Orascom Construction says it expects OCI to complete its process in the fourth quarter of 2026. Until that resolves, the backlog and the corporate structure are two separate stories about the same company.
About the group
Orascom Construction PLC is an engineering and construction contractor working on infrastructure, industrial and commercial projects across the Middle East, Africa and the United States. It develops and invests in concessions, owns 50% of BESIX Group, holds building materials, facility management and equipment services businesses, and is dual listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Egyptian Exchange.
