Dewa profits fall 20% as financing costs surge

Wam

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) reported net profits of AED1.93 billion ($525.46 million) in the second quarter of 2023, down 20 percent from AED2.41 billion a year earlier due to rising financing costs.

Revenue rose 4 percent to AED7.29 billion, driven by increased demand for electricity, water and cooling services and higher income from other assets, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market.

Demand for power in the second quarter reached 14.3 terawatt-hour (TWh), compared to 14.0 TWh for the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, water demand hit 35.3 billion imperial gallons, up 4.6 percent year-on-year.

• Dubai’s Dewa gets 2 bids for $410m Hassyan water project
• Revenues power up by 7.3% at Dewa
• ‘Savvy’ investors snap up Dewa shares

Total number of customers stood at 1.184 million, an increase of 14,998 from the first quarter of 2023.

Dewa’s net income declined 15 percent to AED2.67 billion in the first six months from AED3.14 billion a year ago, impacted by an increase in net finance costs and depreciation.

Net finance costs were higher by AED262 million and depreciation increased by AED90 million due to new IPP projects, although this added to the utility provider’s generation capacity.

Revenue increased 5.4 percent year on year to AED12.7 billion in the first half.

“Dewa’s continued focus on smart project delivery, innovation and accelerating digital transformation have bolstered our top-line results and our operating cash flow performance through the first six months of 2023,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO of Dewa.

The company’s installed generation capacity currently stands at 14.9GW, with 2.4 GW of this capacity coming from renewables.

An upcoming dividend payment of AED3.1 billion for H1 2023 is expected to be paid in October 2023.