Empower posts 9.3% revenue growth, plans IPO by Q4

Empower, a joint venture between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Tecom Investments, announced a net profit of Dh936 million, up 4.0 per cent compared to 2020.

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world's largest district cooling services provider, unveiled its plan for an initial public offering by the fourth quarter of 2022 after announcing on Tuesday a 9.3 per cent jump in revenue to Dh2.464 billion for 2021.

Ahmad bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said the IPO listing on the Dubai Financial Market is part of Dubai’s efforts to strengthen its stock market and attract more listings amid a growing appetite for initial public offerings in the region.

“The listing is part of Dubai’s efforts to double the size of its capital market to Dh3 trillion. Empower will join other state entities including Dewa, Salik and Tecom in going public in 2022. On November 2, 2021, Dubai revealed plans to list 10 state-owned companies as part of its strategy to double the size of its capital market.

Empower, a joint venture between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Tecom Investments, announced a net profit of Dh936 million, up 4.0 per cent compared to 2020.

"The year 2021 was an important milestone in the history of Empower at all levels as it consolidated its share to 79.5 per cent of Dubai's district cooling market,” he said at a media briefing.

Describing the achievements of 2021 as “unprecedented in quantity and quality,” Shafar said the growth was driven by a significant growth in the distribution networks and diversified projects in Dubai.

“In 2022 Empower will focus on significantly expanding the number of district cooling plants, and extending service transmission networks to cover all regions in Dubai Emirate," he said.

Empower, which is focused on providing high-quality and environmentally-friendly district cooling services, has succeeded in concluding three major acquisitions with a total value of Dh2.04 billion, the biggest of their kind in the world, within a span of three months in 2021, he said.

“The process began in August with the acquisition of Nakheel’s district cooling assets for Dh860 million, with a cooling capacity of 110,000 refrigeration tons (RT). This was in addition to the previous acquisition of 'Palm Utilities' and 'Palm District Cooling' for Dh1.83 billion. The second was followed days later by signing a deal with the 'Meydan City Corporation’, worth Dh100 million, with a total cooling capacity of 382,000 RT to be served. Besides these two deals, Empower also acquired the district cooling systems serving Dubai International Airport with a total value of Dh1.1 billion,” said Shafar.

Empower provides district cooling services for 1,413 buildings, including several landmark developments. In 2021, it recorded an increase of 17 per cent in district cooling consumption compared to 2020. During 2021, Empower expanded its network to more than 369.014 kilometers, an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to 2020.

Shafar said Empower caters to various vital sectors of Dubai by providing district cooling services to more than 64 per cent of the residential buildings and 15 per cent of the commercial and office buildings in Dubai.

In 2021, Empower announced the commencement of operations of its new plant in Dubai Production City, with a capacity of 47,000 RT, which is considered as one of the major plants in the region to serve customers in Dubai Production City. The launch of the new plant came as part of Empower's strategy to meet the increasing demand for its high quality and environmentally friendly district cooling services.

The company also announced the award of the main contract for the construction of its new plant in the Al Khail Gate area, with a total value of more than 133 million, whereby the plant will provide district cooling services for a capacity of 32,000 RT.

—issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com