Tabreed’s nine-month profit up 8% on new capacity and connections

DUBAI: District cooling company Tabreed on Wednesday reported its nine-month financial performance, with profit up 8 percent to Dh290.4 million as of September from Dh269.3 million during the same period of last year.
Group revenue increased by 9 percent to Dh1.04 billion as of end-September from Dh960.3 million a year ago, as core chilled water revenue rose by 14 percent to Dh993.5 million from Dh870.6 million previously.
The company continues to deliver solid performance and growth with ongoing new capacity and connections added across the region, in response to the growing demand for district cooling, Tabreed, or National Central Cooling Company, said in a statement.
However, third-quarter profit attributable to equity holders of the Dubai-listed company was down 10.24 percent to Dh97.715 million from Dh108.86 million a year ago. Revenue was nonetheless up 7.37 percent to Dh409.81 million in the three months to September from Dh381.68 million a year ago.
“Tabreed’s continuing growth for the third quarter of 2017 reinforces our position as a leading and best in-class district cooling company,” Khaled Abdulla Al-Qubaisi, Tabreed’s Chairman, said. “It reiterates the confidence of our shareholders in our ability to execute on our strategy and deliver consistent results.”
Total group connected capacity across the Gulf region reached 1,086,610 refrigerated tons (RT), with 38,199 RT of new customer connections added in the first nine months of the year mostly in the UAE (23,825 RT) and Bahrain (3,000 RT) and the rest in other GCC states (11,374 RT).
Tabreed also highlighted one of its operational achievements for the period: approximately 1.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity was saved across the GCC –
enough energy to power approximately 39,000 homes every year.
This prevented the release of almost 590,000 tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of eliminating the emissions of 118,000 vehicles annually, Tabreed said.
“Our ongoing growth reflects our commitment to meet the region’s growing demand for energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly cooling solutions,” Jasim Husain Thabet, Tabreed’s Chief Executive Officer, said.
“At the same time, we remain focused on shareholder value and are proud of the recent certification of Tabreed’s stock as Shariah compliant, which should contribute to an expanded shareholder base. As we look ahead, we will harness our operational knowledge and capabilities toward continued growth with ongoing contribution to the region’s sustainable development.”
Tabreed last month was included in the list of Shariah-compliant companies on the Dubai Financial Market, and its stock is now traded by Islamic banks’ brokerage companies.