Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa), Sunday reported a fourth quarter loss of Dh83 million compared to a profit of Dh233 million a year earlier. Lower energy prices and losses on international assets took their toll on the majority government-owned utilities provider.
The company said lower commodity prices brought its annual profit down to Dh180 million from Dh1.8 billion in 2008 when oil peaked at $147 a barrel. Taqa also said it wrote down Dh228 million against its subsidiary assets Taqa Britani and Taqa North after re-evaluation of reserves.
Since Taqa's establishment in 2005, the company has accumulated about $2 billion (Dh7.4 billion) in North Sea assets through three subsidiaries: Taqa Britani, Taqa North and Taqa Energy. The company said it believes the fields could still hold as much as 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
As of press time, the company had not released its full balance sheet or income statement.
On the year, revenues climbed by just Dh137 million to Dh16.9 billion. In October, the company appointed Carl Sheldon as new CEO, saying it would focus on its downstream business for future growth.
"The company is looking to shift its focus toward its existing assets," said Angad Rajpal, energy analyst at Prime Emirates who had expected Dh180 million in fourth quarter profit.
"So, you'll definitely see them further optimise and/or expand their downstream activities. This should help increase contributions from their recurring income portfolio and consequently improve their overall risk profile."
In May, Taqa signed an agreement to build, own and operate two 350 megawatt power plants in Morocco under a 30-year agreement.
