Tabreed bullish on growth in 2020

UAE-based National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) CEO Bader Al Lamki, has said that he is confident about seeing further growth in 2020, with an emphasis on exploring new opportunities in Saudi Arabia and India.
Significantly, amid the US-Iran tensions, Tabreed was the only stock in the green on Sunday at the Dubai Financial Market General Index. When asked about prospects in the face of ongoing geo-political tensions, Al Lamki said: "We always continue to calibrate and manoeuvre through different cycles. We are here to stay and grow. The rate and pace of growth varies from one country to another. So, depending on how things evolve, we always adjust and prioritise. We anticipate things and try to adjust like any prudent company."
Tabreed has 75 ongoing projects in the region with 65 in the UAE. The infrastructure projects include Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Yas Island, Dubai Metro, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Jabal Omar Development in the Holy City of Makka, Aramco in Dahran, King Abdullah Financial district and Bahrain Financial Harbour in Manama.
Saudi Arabia and India key markets
Apart from big plans for Saudi Arabia, Tabreed is also eyeing new markets in India, Egypt and Kuwait.
"We have increased our stakes in our subsidiary Saudi Tabreed to 28 per cent. It's a significant step forward. We see a potential there. Saudi Arabia with Vision 2030 have ambitious programme of building new cities. There are many infrastructure projects announced which Saudi Tabreed would be looking at. There is no shortage of opportunities. What is left is for those projects to evolve, increase the pace of development and for us to sharpen our pencils and provide the value services to be the partner of choice," he said and noted that Tabreed will look at countries with dense populations.
"India is very high in our strategic growth ambition. And Egypt has new cities being built."
Last year, Tabreed inked a deal to build India's first district cooling plant - it's first outside the GCC market. However, a change of state government in Andhra Pradesh has stalled further progress. "We remain committed to the Amaravati project. It is ready to proceed, pending government approval. They have asked for some clarifications. We have reassured them of our readiness. We are just waiting for the green light. We are happy to proceed as soon as they finish their review."
Lamki said that 2020 will be an important year for Tabreed. By the month-end, the company will announce its full year results. In November 2019, Tabreed reported an increase of 3.1 per cent in net profit to Dh329.1 million for the first nine months. "We will hopefully deliver year-on-year increase in our net profit. We will close on a strong note. We are confident about further growth this year."
- ashwani@khaleejtimes.com