Dubai utility DEWA’s Q2 profit up 37% on growing energy demand

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• The utility provider is reviewing plans to float Empower
• First dividend payout of AED 3.1bn likely in October

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) reported a net profit of AED 2.61 billion ($707.9 million), up 37 percent year-on-year, in the second quarter of 2022 on higher energy demand.

Revenue rose 14 percent year-on-year to AED 7.01 billion during the three month period ended June 30, 2022.

The utility provider’s first half of 2022 revenue reached AED 12.08 billion, growing 15 percent year-on-year, driven by an increase in demand and a transition to a normalised tariff structure.

Energy demand in the emirate rose 6.3 percent to 23.27 Terawatt-hour in the first half of 2022, compared to the previous year. Nearly 10 percent of the total energy generation came from solar, the company said in a statement published on the Dubai Financial Market.

Similarly, water demand grew 6.4 percent, with peak demand hitting 9.4 GW.

DEWA announced last month it plans to invest AED 40 billion on capital expenditure over the next few years.

The firm provides electricity and water services to 3.5 million people living in Dubai. The utility is planning to invest about 16 billion dirhams in its electricity and water transmission, and distribution networks.

The company is also planning to spend about AED 12 billion to complete the Independent Power Producer projects in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Hassyan Power Complex and the Independent Water Producer projects at Hassyan.

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Empower, which is 70 percent owned by DEWA, reported a revenue of AED 1.15 billion and a net profit of AED 432 million, rising 16 percent and 11 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first half of 2022.

The company is currently reviewing the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) of Empower. The timing and size of the same are under study and are subject to all the necessary approvals.

In the first half of 2022, DEWA’s installed capacity increased by 700 megawatts (MW) to 14,117 MW, which includes 600 MW from the Hassyan Power Complex and 100 MW from the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Additionally, DEWA expects to pay a minimum dividend of AED 6.2 billion per year over the next five years. The first dividend payment of AED 3.1 billion is likely to be made in October 2022.

DEWA went public on the Dubai Financial Market in April, raising $6.1 billion, making it the region’s largest listing since Saudi Aramco’s record $29.4 billion initial public offering in December 2019.