Dubai:

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) reported on Sunday Dh641 million in net profit for 2016, marking a 24 per cent increase from the nearly Dh512 million profit the company recorded in 2015.

Meanwhile, total revenues for the year reached Dh1.84 billion, up 11 per cent year-on-year on the back of growth in customer numbers and added efficiency.

At a press conference in Dubai, Ahmad Bin Shafer, chief executive officer of Empower, said the company is targeting a similar growth rate this year, and was confident Empower could see Dh2 billion in turnover in 2017 supported by new projects. He added that the company currently has around Dh900 million worth of projects in the pipeline for this year.

“The number of deals that has been registered by [the Dubai Land Department] for the first quarter of this year so far is higher than the last six months of last year, so I don’t really see an economic slowdown. Plus, Dubai is preparing for Expo 2020, and there are a lot of [projects] coming to Dubai, and I think the next two years will be an opportunity to grab property,” Bin Shafer said.

Discussing growth plans for 2017, the CEO said Empower is in talks with three companies about possibly acquiring one or more of them but declined to disclose further details. Bin Shafer added that the company was also in discussions with the governments of Sharjah and Ajman about expanding there and providing district cooling in those emirates.

He said expansion projects will be mostly self-financed.

Asked whether Empower would consider floating shares on the stock exchange, he said the board of directors was waiting for the right time and the right market environment to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

“Launching an IPO is a concept in our minds but we don’t know when the right time to execute it is. Our debt is very low so can [launch an IPO] … but still, this is a government decision to see what’s suitable for Dubai and to take further action on it,” Bin Shafer said.

At the end of 2016, Empower had Dh1.3 billion in debt, the CEO said, adding that the company plans to take that figure down to Dh900 million this year.

Empower currently operates 1.25 million refrigerated tonnes, providing district cooling services to developments such as Business Bay, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Discovery Gardens and Dubai Design District among others.