Tabreed's Q1 profit up 3pc, chilled water revenue steady
DUBAI
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National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has reported a net profit of Dh82.2 million ($22.3 million) for the first quarter, up three per cent compared to last year.
A leading international district cooling developer based in UAE, Tabreed said in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it had taken all precautions to ensure continuous uninterrupted service for its customers while also adopting industry-leading health and safety practices and sanitisation programmes to ensure the safety of its staff during these challenging times.
The Emirati group continues to meet the growing demand for district cooling solutions and had even recently announced the acquisition of its Downtown Dubai district cooling business in a long-term partnership with global property developer Emaar, to provide up to 235,000 tonnes of refrigeration (RT) of cooling from the largest integrated district cooling scheme in the world to some of Emaar’s most prestigious developments.
On its financial results, Tabreed said the highlights for the three months ended March 31, included:
*Decrease in revenue of 1 per cent driven by results from value chain businesses
*Chilled water revenue in line with prior year
*Gross margins marginally up on prior year at 55 per cent
*Finance costs down due to lower rates
*Ebitda increased by 5 per cent to Dh178.2 million
According to Tabreed, there was an increase in administrative and other expenses mainly from a provision of Dh10 million ($2.72 million) on receivables due to impact of Covid-19 offset by cost savings
As part of the Covid-19 measures, the staff members were successfully rotated to ensure at least 50 per cent of workers were on call at any given time.
Management was also able to mitigate the threat of the virus by ensuring that services were maintained with minimal staff interaction and exposure leveraging its state-of-the-art technology and operation philosophy coupled with thorough and regular sanitisation of plants and offices.
Tabreed said its energy efficient services resulted in preventing the release of 1.23 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the course of 2019 – the equivalent of eliminating the emissions from 268,000 vehicles.
Chairman Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi said: "Tabreed’s first quarter financial results demonstrate the resilience of our operational capabilities, proving that we are still able to deliver essential, efficient and reliable services to our customers as we collectively navigate through these challenging times."
"We have successfully continued to deliver efficient and cost-effective cooling solutions, minimising the potential for a disruption to the service through working remotely and safely in cooperation with our highly qualified and dedicated employees," he noted.
"Our facilities are 100 per cent operational and we are taking all possible measures to ensure we maintain this service level while ensuring the health and safety of all that interact with our facilities," he added.
CEO Bader Al Lamki said: "We are extremely proud of the swift and effective steps we have been taking to ensure our business continuity and ability to serve the market and our customers during this period of intense market conditions."
"Now more than ever, it is critical that we make it possible for all customers to continue their operations and help them respond to the unique demands that they are facing," noted Lamki.
"Tabreed’s response in this regard has been strong, and as we align our work processes with the guidelines issued by relevant authorities, and our customers can rest assured that they can continue to count on us to support their businesses with efficient, reliable and effective district cooling solutions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
