ADNOC Drilling to start quarterly dividends - frst payment by May 28

Dubai: ADNOC Drilling has ticked off strong double-digit growth on key financials in the first three months of 2025 -  and there is more coming. The company also confirmed it’s on track with a ‘robust’ multi-billion dollar pipeline and new contracts.. All of which has secured the ADNOC entity with ‘unmatched’ multi-year earnings visibility.

When it comes to Q1-25, ADNOC Drilling did a lot right – revenue gains of 32% year-on-year to $1.17 billion, EBITDA up 22% and net profit of $341 million served up by a 24% increase.

ADNOC Drilling will now start paying quarterly dividends after the Board of Directors gave the go ahead.

The first quarterly dividend payment of 2025 will be for an amount of $217 million (around 5 fils per share) and to be paid on or around May 28, 2025, to all shareholders of record as of May 19. (For each of the following three quarterly distributions for 2025, $217 million will be the floor level.)

The majority of UAE's listed companies still go by the annual dividend policy. But in the recent past, that's been changing, with some of the listed ADNOC entities driving the change.

Quarterly dividends are a relatively new territory.

ADNOC Drilling said that its Board 'may approve additional dividends over and above the progressive dividend floor after considering free cash flow accretive growth opportunities'.

In March, its shareholders had approved the distribution of the final cash dividend payment for 2024, totaling $394 million (around 9.05 fils per share) and were paid in April. This brought the total 2024 dividend to $788 million (18.1 fils per share), making for a 10% year-on-year increase versus 2023.

The first quarter numbers ‘has demonstrated our financial resilience and laid the foundation for another year of significant growth’, said Abdulrahman Abdulla Al Seiari, ADNOC Drilling’s CEO.

“We are progressing at pace on our strategic priorities, expanding our rig fleet, scaling our oilfield services offering and advancing our AI and digital capabilities.

“As we secure new contracts and expand into strategic markets, our scale and commitment to innovation continue to enhance efficiency and performance across the business.”