Abu Dhabi’s Taqa Group reports net income of Dhs6bn for 2021

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has announced its consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Taqa delivered a strong performance in 2021, underpinned by its utilities business and boosted by the recovery in commodity prices. The year also saw Taqa start to actively execute its 2030 strategy for sustainable growth and returns.

The group’s revenue was Dhs45.7bn, 11 per cent higher than the previous year, primarily due to higher commodity prices within the oil and gas segment. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, or EBITDA, was Dh19.7bn, up 23 per cent, mainly reflecting higher revenues and improved income from associates, partially offset by higher expenses.

Net income (attributed to Taqa) was Dhs6bn, an increase of Dhs3.2bn, with greater contribution from the oil and gas segment and also reflecting the Dhs1.5bn post-tax impairment charge in 2020. Capital expenditure was Dhs4.7bn, 26 per cent higher than the prior year, driven by expenditure in transmission and distribution, the group’s largest segment.

The company reported strong free cash flows of Dhs17.8bn, further improving liquidity following the full repayment of corporate credit facilities in the first half of the year. Gross debt was at Dhs64.9bn, down from Dhs76bn at the end of 2020, further improving the group’s credit metrics.

Taqa also reported that oil and gas average production volumes increased to 122.4 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, or boepd, an increase of 4 per cent, driven by higher production in Europe, in particular the UK.

On approval of the financial results, Taqa’s board of directors has proposed a final cash dividend of Dhs1.2bn (1.1 fils per share).

TAQA delivered a strong performance for 2021, more than doubling net income to AED 6.0 billion: https://t.co/Er9rOcQPNv pic.twitter.com/YWF7mXKMtV

— TAQA (@TAQAGroup) February 11, 2022

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, TAQA’s chairman, commented: “In 2021, Taqa Group outlined an ambitious growth strategy, setting its sights on being the recognised low carbon power and water champion of Abu Dhabi and beyond. Taqa’s strategy put a stake in the ground, showcasing its commitment to decarbonisation and growth with a clear roadmap to 2030. It immediately began executing this plan, including announcing a powerhouse partnership with Mubadala and ADNOC to become shareholders in one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world, under the Masdar brand.”

Jasim Husain Thabet, Taqa’s group CEO and MD, said the company “progressed in new areas such as green hydrogen” and achieved “key milestones including the first water being produced from the Taweelah Reverse Osmosis plant”. The plant, once fully operational, will be the largest of its kind in the world.

He said the company had moved forward with its growth plans, signing the Tanajib cogeneration and desalination project in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Aramco.

Thabet added, “We also became the partner of choice for decarbonising industries such as ADNOC’s offshore operations which we are linking to the onshore grid enabling power to come from low carbon electricity. This has laid the groundwork for 2022, which began with publishing our first sustainability report– demonstrating our commitment to ESG and further supporting the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. We also announced the successful completion of the region’s largest green bond in January, which was 1.8 times oversubscribed by international investors.”