Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as Taqa, yesterday announced an annual net profit of Dh937 million for 2010, more than a five-fold increase from Dh182 million in 2009.
The Abu Dhabi-listed company, the sixth-largest power producer in the world, reported Dh21.35 billion in revenues, up 27 per cent from 2009. The company's earnings per share increased from Dh0.03 in 2009 to Dh0.15 last year.
Chief executive and managing director Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi described 2010 as "a year of focus for Taqa". "We have worked hard to harness efficiency and opportunity within our footprint while simultaneously adding to it with valuable and complementary transactions during 2010," he said in a statement.
"While the economic environment remains somewhat challenging, the more positive commodity pricing environment resulted in a strong final half to the year. Combined with our rapid and tightly priced completion of necessary refinancing during 2010, we have started 2011 with confidence and conviction."
As oil prices and revenues are keeping ahead of costs, companies are expected to show good results, Kate Durian, editor of Platts, a global provider of energy information, said.
"We see an expansion in the oil industry and the outlook is for rising demand. You could expect rising production, so it's going to reflect on the companies' results," she told Gulf News. "... All in all, it looks like a solid year and it's reflected in the results coming in now."
Abhay Bhargava, industry leader for energy and power systems at Frost and Sullivan, echoed Durian, saying the increase in profit would be based on the fact that there's an obvious increase in oil demand and oil prices.
According to Bhargava, the amount of power generated is expected to go up in the region, which in turn will impact resources, especially hydrocarbons. "The demand is going to be positive," he said.
Taqa's reported figures are based on the preliminary, unaudited financial results for the year ending December 31, 2010.
