Jasim Husain Thabet

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), a leading integrated utilities in the region, has posted a net income (Taqa-share) of AED2 billion ($544 million) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, 37% higher than the prior-year period.

Taqa delivered strong performance underpinned by its stable regulated and contracted utilities businesses and boosted by higher commodity prices. Highlights for the period include:

Group revenues of AED12.4 billion, 20% higher than the prior-year period, primarily due to higher commodity prices within the Oil & Gas segment, while adjusted EBITDA was AED5.6 billion, up 20%, mainly reflecting higher revenues as well as improved income from associates, partially offset by higher expenses.
    
Capital expenditure was AED868 million, 31% lower than the prior-year period, mainly driven by lower expenditure in the Transmission & Distribution segment.

Free cash flows recorded AED3.3 billion, 5% lower than the same period last year, maintaining significant liquidity (AED19.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents and undrawn corporate credit facilities).

Gross debt was AED63.9 billion, down from AED65.0 billion at the end of 2021, further improving the Group’s credit metrics.

Operational highlights:
•    Transmission network availability for power and water of 98.0%, flat to the prior-year period.
•    Generation global technical availability of 84.0%, lower compared to 88.7% from the prior-year period, mainly due to planned and unplanned maintenance within the UAE fleet.
•    Oil & Gas average production volumes increased to 126.9 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), an increase of 5%, driven by higher production in Europe.

Upon approval of the financial results, Taqa’s Board of Directors also declared a first interim cash dividend for the year of AED675 million (0.60 fils per share), in line with the Company’s dividend policy.

Jasim Husain Thabet, Taqa’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, commented: “Taqa’s solid financial results for the first quarter of 2022 demonstrate the value of our agile and robust business model, and more importantly, provide an excellent foundation for our strategic growth plans.”

“We started the year by issuing a green bond linked to our first solar PV plant, which was oversubscribed by international investors. The bond is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a secondary listing on the ADX. In the UAE, we announced a partnership with Etisalat Digital to enhance digital capabilities and customer experience for our power and water customers across Abu Dhabi, as well as expressing an interest to acquire EGA’s power generation assets to boost Taqa’s UAE capacity.

“The current market conditions further advance our positioning to actively pursue organic and inorganic growth opportunities in the UAE and abroad and make the Taqa a competitive investor that is agile and able to swiftly execute,” Jasim Husain Thabet added. – TradeArabia News Service