Empower profit up 31% to Dh248m

Empower, the world’s largest district cooling service provider, has announced it achieved a net profit of Dh248 million for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2013, representing an impressive 31 per cent growth on 2012.

The company's total revenues reached Dh850 million, a 21% increase from the previous year.

Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said: “2013 was a remarkable year for Empower as it acquired Palm Utilities (PU) and Palm District Cooling (PDC). Together with PDC, another leading district cooling service provider, operating in the developments of Nakheel and DMCCA, Empower’s market share has increased to more than 70% in the UAE. Empower has achieved the position of world’s largest district cooling service provider in terms of capacity. The company was recipient of several local and international awards, such as the IDEA Innovation Award and the Emirates Energy Award,” said Bin Shafar.

“As per Dubai’s State of Energy Report 2014, district cooling services have been identified as one of the key measures in which the Emirate can optimize the use of energy resources. The UAE and GCC governments are committed to promoting district cooling to reduce their dependence on conventional cooling systems which consume more energy .”

Empower has created an advanced infrastructure of district cooling services and currently serves a variety of real estate developments, such as Business Bay, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), TECOM C, Ghuroob Mirdif, Al Khail Gate, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens and Jumeirah Village.

Bin Shafar added: “Based on last year’s performance and cash flow projections, Empower has declared dividends for the first time to be paid to its shareholders. Empower’s cautious strategy of building district cooling assets in line with demand has proved beneficial for all of its stakeholders and will continue to generate higher and consistent returns in the future.”

During 2013, Empower secured a loan of $600 million (Dh2.2 billion) from a syndicate of local, regional and international banks. This loan was used to acquire Palm Utilities and Palm District Cooling and also for capital expenditure required for the expansion of its plants and networks. Empower also settled loans amounting to Dh193 million out of which Dh110 million was repaid ahead of schedule.

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