UAE utility company Utico wants a Dubai Financial Market listing

Dubai: A private utility company in the UAE plans to make a listing on Dubai Financial Market later this year, floating between 20-30 per cent of its shares. Utico, has multiple projects in the country and elsewhere in the Gulf, is aiming for a Dh3 billion valuation.

The company is projecting forward multiples of about 11, and investors could expect a stable incremental dividend increase by 8-10 per cent thereafter, according to the promoter.

“It is a co-incidence the government’s decree that all private joint stock companies and international private companies which derive greater than 50 per cent of their profits from the UAE to be listed in the local securities exchanges," said Richard Menezes, CEO of Utico.

Last month, DFM had its first IPO since 2017, in the form of Al Mal Capital REIT. The real estate focussed fund garnered Dh350 million.

Project heavy

Utico was awarded Dubai’s Hassyan IWP desalination project for a 35-year supply, as well as a water supply project in Oman. Utico currently serves a population of about 200,000 and holds a market share of 20 per cent in the areas it serves.