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29 March 2024

Taqa Q3 profit falls 27% on higher effective tax rate

Taqa quarterly revenues drop to Dh6.93bn from Dh7.34bn.(Supplied)

Published
By Staff/Reuters

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa), the state-owned oil explorer and power supplier, reported a 27 per cent decrease in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday, citing a higher effective tax rate.

Taqa, 75 per cent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, reported a net profit of Dh107 million ($29.1 million) in the three months to September 30, down from Dh146 million in the same period of 2013.

The firm said its pretax profit in the quarter was Dh622 million, up from Dh591 million a year earlier, but its effective tax rate rose to 49 per cent from 39 per cent.

Revenue for the latest quarter was Dh6.93 billion versus Dh7.34 billion in the corresponding period last year. 

The energy firm said in a statement that it generated net income of Dh620 million and reduced its debt by over Dh3 billion during the first nine months of 2014 using excess cash flow and selling non-core assets.

Oil and gas production averaged 158.5 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day during the nine month period, up 17 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2013. The company increased its power generation capacity by 700 megawatt (MW) to 17,095 MW following the expansion of the Jorf Lasfar power station in Morocco.

General and administrative costs fell nine per cent and also reduced unit operating costs in UK and North American businesses.

Taqa’s net income after minority interests was Dh620 million up from Dh80 million in the first nine months of 2013.

Edward LaFehr, Chief Operating Officer of Taqa, said: “This financial result is due to excellent operational performance across our global asset base combined with strong oil and gas pricing. We have also focused capital investment and reduced general and administrative costs, while maintaining our focus on safety. These efforts are even more important now in today’s challenging commodity price environment.”