Dubai: The Dubai district cooling company Empower recorded Dh165.5 million in the first quarter of 2024 net profit, against Dh167.3 million a year ago. This is after accounting for Dh16.2 million for the UAE corporate tax provisions.
As UAE’s listed companies go through their Q1 reporting schedules, their numbers are showing the effects of the new tax and accounting for it in the financials.
Empower’s revenues for the three months came to Dh537.7 million, a solid gain on the Dh494.2 million a year ago. The company keeps boosting the number of projects handled by it, with a key win recently being that for the Al Habtoor City skyscraper.
At the company's recent annual general meeting, shareholders approved the proposal for cash dividends of Dh425 million (at Dh0.0425 a share) for H2-2023. This is equal to 42.5 per cent of the company's paid-up capital. The payments were made during April. The full-year dividend was Dh850 million (Dh0.085 a share).
New markets?
“Empower will seize the opportunities in UAE and explore other neighbouring countries to provide its energy-efficient district cooling services,” it said in a statement.
"We saw a significant demand from the wide range of new mixed-use projects that joined Empower's portfolio during the recent period, resulting in new growth rates in the volume of production and operational capacity," said Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower.
In the first three months, there were 37 new contracts to provide over 34,000 RT (refrigeration tons) to various projects and buildings in Dubai. "This indicates a growing acceptance of environmentally friendly district cooling services among developers and building owners," said a statement.
The company's connected capacity has grown to more than 1.52 million RT, after adding around 10,000 RT during the quarter.
