Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), headquartered in Abu Dhabi, with operations in 11 countries, has announced its financial results and operational highlights for the first half of the year ended 30 June 2019.
According to the financial results, TAQA recorded revenues of AED 9 billion during the first half of 2019, an increase of 5% compared to the first half of 2018.The Group's oil and gas sector achieved a strong performance, recording an increase of 11% in revenues. Driven by increased production volumes from its assets in Europe and Iraq, while the revenues of the electricity and water sector remained stable, recording an increase of about 73 million dirhams to reach 5.7 billion dirhams.
The Group recorded a gross profit of AED 4.8 billion before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which remained flat compared to the first half of 2018. The strong performance of the Group's oil and gas business achieved a 15% improvement in EBITDA of 193 million. AED.
The Group's total capital expenditure increased to AED 957 million in the first half of 2019, an increase of 15% compared to the same period in 2018. The increase in capital expenditure for the oil and gas sector is largely driven by the acquisition of an additional 7.5% stake in Atrush »Oil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq« Marathon Oil Kurdistan »last May worth 116 million dirhams.
While TAQA maintained its strong operating performance, the end result was somewhat influenced by several external factors.The Group recorded a net profit (TAQA) of AED 214 million, compared to AED 278 million in the first half of 2018, on the back of operations. Market reassessment of US energy assets, increased deferred tax charges due to changes in Alberta's tax rates, as well as a decrease in share of investment results for partners.
The Company's liquidity remained stable at AED 12.8 billion as of June 30, 2019.This includes AED 2.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents and AED 10.2 billion in unused credit facilities.The Group continued to make progress in reducing the AED 64.5 billion debt. As of December 31, 2018, a decrease of AED 1.8 billion compared to the total debt balance of AED 66.3 billion.
Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajri, Chairman of TAQA, said: `` Our positive performance in the first half of 2019 is based on the strong operational performance of our operations, while the Group's balance sheet remains in good shape, with stable revenues and further debt reduction along with strong liquidity, we will continue to "Our journey to achieve our long-term goals, while Moody's latest rating is a sign of stability in our operational performance."
`` We have also made significant progress in developing our strategy to maintain capital stability through focused investments in our core assets, such as Atrush, and remain optimistic, and we believe that our investments in the UAE and other strategic markets will contribute to a sustainable growth story. ''