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Tabreed net profit up 6% on greater GCC presence

Dubai - The company's earnings per share increased by 19 per cent to Dh0.11 largely as a result of the successful completion of the buyback of the mandatory convertible bonds.

 National Central Cooling Company, also known as Tabreed, on Monday said its net profit rose six per cent to Dh345 million last year compared to Dh325.7 million in 2015.
The regional district cooling utility company said robust performance was driven by its sizable presence across the GCC region and by the optimisation of its capital structure, which led to a 19 per cent increase in earnings per share. It further said the company's board of directors will recommend increasing cash dividends for 2015 to six fils per share, up from five fils per share for 2014.
Jasim Husain Thabet, chief executive officer, Tabreed said the government and private entities across the GCC continue to see the energy and environmental benefits of deploying district cooling technologies for their major infrastructure projects.
"This increased appreciation of the advantages of district cooling over conventional air conditioning is creating new growth opportunities, and has helped our Qatari affiliate, Qatar Cool, win the contract to provide district cooling services to the upcoming Qatar Rail project in Doha," he said.
"In the year ahead, Tabreed will aim to grow the business in a sustainable and consistent manner, and deliver on the existing projects under development," he added.
The Dubai-listed company said group revenue increased by four per cent to Dh1.17 billion last year compared to Dh1.13 billion in 2014. It said core chilled water profit from operations increased by three per cent to Dh370.4 million last year as against Dh359.3 million in 2014.
"Our operations across the GCC region have been instrumental in driving bottom-line growth, while our commitment to achieving an optimal capital structure has increased earnings per share by 19 per cent," Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, chairman of Tabreed, said.
The company's earnings per share increased by 19 per cent to Dh0.11 largely as a result of the successful completion of the buyback of the mandatory convertible bonds. The share of results of associates and joint ventures increased by 16 per cent to Dh98.6 million last year from Dh85.4 million in 2014.
"Tabreed has maintained its commitment to providing a sustainable return to shareholders, and on the back of the strong performance in 2015, the company's board of directors will recommend increasing cash dividends to six fils at the upcoming annual general assembly," Al Muhairi said.
Tabreed currently has 69 district cooling plants across the GCC and provides its services to many of the region's critical projects. The company now delivers 974,377 RT to major residential, commercial, government and private projects. It has 61 plants in the UAE, three plants in Qatar, two each in Saudi Arabia and Oman and one in Bahrain.
- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com