Abu Dhabi's Taqa swings to third-quarter profit

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) swung to a net profit in the third quarter of 2018 as it strengthened its balance sheet on higher oil prices.

Net income attributable to shareholders for the three months to September 30 rose to Dh153 million from a loss of Dh194m in the year-earlier period. Gross revenues lifted 19 per cent to Dh4.9 billion, the company said on Thursday in a filing to Abu Dhabi Exchange, where its shares are traded.

“Taqa has achieved a very strong financial turnaround in the last year, which is the result of three years of hard work to strengthen our business to withstand the most volatile of business cycles,” said chairman Saeed Al Hajeri.

Taqa posted a record loss in 2016 and has since worked to pay down debt and recover growth. It has reduced its debt by Dh3.7bn since the beginning of the year, leading to a Dh231 million reduction in cash interest paid, it said on Thursday. Total liquidity stood at Dh13.2bn at the end of September.

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“The company is now well positioned to implement our strategy for growth, which will combine attaining optimal returns from our oil and gas business, while maximising efficiency at power and water assets and pursuing new opportunities in the utilities sector,” Mr Al Hajeri said.

The power and water business recorded a strong performance, with revenues of Dh8.7bn, while Taqa’s oil and gas business produced Dh4.8bn of revenue.

“Operating netbacks per barrel increased in Europe driven by higher oil prices, while operations in North America continued to be affected by the low gas price environment in Canada,” the company said.