Egypt’s richest family bags $15.1M dividend as Orascom posts $1.96B H1 revenue

The Sawiris family, Egypt’s most prominent business dynasty, have pocketed roughly $15.1 million in dividends from Orascom Construction after the company declared a payout of 25 cents per share.

Nassef, Samih and Naguib Sawiris together hold a 54.86% stake in the Cairo-founded engineering and building firm, equal to about 60.5 million shares. That collective holding ensures the three brothers remain the company’s dominant shareholders. The dividend distribution, approved in August, will hand them $15.12 million.

Nassef Sawiris, who owns 36.5% of Orascom and is Egypt’s wealthiest man with a net worth of about $9.05 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is the largest beneficiary. Samih holds 12.5% while Naguib, long associated with telecoms and media, owns 5.8%.

The payout amounts to about 18% of Orascom’s first-half net income of $82.7 million, underlining how much of the company’s earnings flow directly to the founding family.

Orascom booked about $1.96 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, down from just over $2.1 billion a year earlier. EBITDA came in at $139.4 million, compared with $133 million in the same period of 2024. The company also reported a project backlog worth $9.6 billion and secured fresh contract awards totaling $3.4 billion. Including its 50% stake in Belgian builder BESIX, the pro forma backlog rose to $13.9 billion and new awards reached $4.2 billion.

The group’s renewable energy arm also marked a milestone in June when it began full operations at a 650-megawatt wind farm in Egypt, lifting total operational wind capacity to 913 megawatts. The project reflects a broader shift toward clean energy, an area where the Sawiris family has been steadily expanding.

Founded by the late Onsi Sawiris in the 1950s, Orascom Construction became the foundation of one of the Arab world’s most influential fortunes. The family later diversified into telecoms, cement, real estate and sports, with Nassef holding a significant stake in fertilizer giant OCI NV and in English football club Aston Villa.