After record revenues, Tecom confirms another Dh400m dividend for 2024

Dubai: Dubai’s Tecom Group plans to pay Dh400 million as 2024 dividend (at Dh0.08 a share) after best ever revenues of Dh2.4 billion against Dh2.17 billion a year ago. But it’s the growth on the profit side that’s even better, higher by 14% to Dh1.2 billion (from Dh1.07 billion).

The dividend is retained at the same level as in 2023. (The stock is at Dh3.04 on the DFM.)

The operator of high-demand clusters such as Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City as well as the Design District (d3), Tecom has benefited from solid occupancy levels across its zones. And there had been some strategic buys of commercial properties that had blue-chip tenants signed up on long-term leases.

There could be more such growth opportunities this year, according to a top official. “Favourable market conditions will likely continue driving demand across commercial offices and industrial real estate segments,” said Malek Sultan Rashed Almalek, Chairman of Tecom Group.

In October last, the company bought an office cluster from Emirates REIT for Dh720 million. There were also other purchases of commercial and industrial assets in August as part of a Dh1.7 billion investment.

These categories are the very spaces that the DFM-listed entity plays in. Tecom also operates Dubai Industrial City, which has seen significant intakes of new projects and clients. Across Dubai, office and commercial real estate rentals have been seeing significant spikes even as available space has been limited. The same trends are playing out in the emirate’s free zones and economic clusters.  

“By expanding our development portfolio and enhancing existing assets, the Group is strategically positioned to meet the growing demand for premium spaces in key, well-connected locations,” said Almalek.

Tecom is also setting aside Dh24 million from the profits of its subsidiaries to the statutory reserve. Its investment property portfolio was valued at Dh27.97 billion against Dh22.93 billion a year ago.   

By end 2024, Tecom Group was recording an occupancy level across its holdings of 94% and with a tenant size just under 12,000.

On its investments, “Our total acquisition value was around Dh2.7 billion,” said Abdulla Belhoul, CEO of Tecom. “It’s got two components, around 14 million square feet of land plus another 1.5 million square feet of GLA in d3 and Dubai Internet City, including buying the (existing) office assets.”

On whether Tecom had any plans to convert the current leased offices into freehold, the CEO said: “We do operate on a build-to-lease model rather than build-to-sell, and that will continue to be the strategy for Dubai Design District, where the current expansion should be complete within 2028.”