DFM listed Empower nets Dh685m as nine-month '23 profit
Empower numbers powered up by higher usage - new contracts help too
The revenues worked out to a solid Dh2.26 billion against Dh2.07 billion, as Empower made gains from higher usage and the additional district cooling capacities it brought into play across Dubai.
Empower, which had paid half-year dividends of Dh425 million in October, is on course to pay out Dh850 million for 2023, and which will be related for next year as well. It was November last year that the company went through a hugely successful IPO and a listing on DFM.
Empower continues to expand its operations, invest in its asset portfolio, and develop its infrastructure to meet the growing demand in Dubai’s district cooling market.
The Q3-23 results ‘promise shareholders long-term, sustainable profits’, the CEO added.
On the net profit tally, Empower said if the calculations were done on a ‘pro forma’ basis, the total would actually be Dh777 million - and a 6.1 per cent gain on 2022. The actual net profit of Dh685 million reflects the debt that the company took on prior to the IPO in late 2022.
Powering up
Empower is also seeing the benefits flow in from the multiple deals effected in the recent past, notably that from May last, when it took an 85 per cent stake in DXB CoolCo, the entity providing district cooling to Dubai International Airport. The agreement comes with a 35-year contract. (And from July, DXB CoolCo was accounted for as a full-fledged subsidiary of Empower.)
In addition, during the nine-month period, Empower entered new agreements with Dubai Maritime City and Sobha Realty, which would see it provide 80,000 RT (refrigeration tons) of cooling capacity to the clients.
Steady take up rates
All told, Empower added ‘nearly a dozen’ new buildings to its burgeoning portfolio in Dubai during the July to September phase, with 70 per cent being residential. This includes the final phase of ‘One Za’abeel’, the super-luxury address near World Trade Centre and where the first residents moved in recently.
It started delivering with effect from July 5.
The company also bagged contracts to build a ‘next-generation’ district cooling plant and expand the district cooling pipeline network in the Jumeirah Beach Hills area.
“This expansion project will provide a total cooling capacity of 48,000 RT and serve prestigious residential and tourist destinations, including landmarks like Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Marsa Al-Arab, Madinat Jumeirah Living, Madinat Jumeirah’, among others.