Taqa nine-month revenues up 3pc

09/11/2017 12:42 AST

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), a leading global energy company headquartered in Abu Dhabi with operations in 11 countries, today announced a total revenue of Dh12.5 billion ($3.40 billion) for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017, an increase of 3 per cent compared to Dh12.1 billion for the same period last year.

The revenue increase was primarily driven by higher commodity prices, it said.

The company reported an EBITDA of Dh6.8 billion, up 7 per cent on the same period in the previous year, supported by higher revenues and sustained cash cost savings.

However, Taqa reported a net loss of Dh82 million for the first nine months of 2017. Its third quarter income was impacted by the unscheduled outage at the Sohar Aluminum smelter and negative mark-to-market movements at its US power plant tolling agreement during the period, it said.

Total liquidity remains strong at Dh12.1 billion, including Dh2.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents and Dh9.2 billion of undrawn credit facilities. Total debt was reduced by Dh2.6 billion in the first nine months of 2017 while interest paid reduced by Dh286 million, it said.

Commenting on the results, Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, acting chief operating officer, said: "We're pleased to see continued strong free cash flow generation as well as improved margins across our portfolio, which has benefited from increased efficiencies across our operations.

"During the period, Taqa achieved 'first oil' at our Atrush development in Iraq, which marks an important milestone for the group. The company has also been able to reduce our financing costs and gradually lower our debt, which will have a positive impact on our financial performance over the coming years," Al Dhaheri said.

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