Tabreed shareholders approve 19% increase in cash dividend

Tabreed’s management announces the company’s annual performance at a Press conference

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 7 March 2019: The shareholders of National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) have approved a dividend of 9.5 fils per share for the financial year ending 31 December 2018, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Driven by the company’s performance in 2018, this represents a 19% increase on the previous year’s payout, the communiqué said. The dividend was approved by the shareholders at the company’s Annual General Assembly, chaired by Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Chairman, Tabreed, and attended by Tabreed’s Board of Directors, shareholders and the company’s senior leadership team, the communiqué further said.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Al Qubaisi, said: “Tabreed has delivered rising cash dividends to shareholders in recent years, and this year’s dividend continues that trend. Our progress has deservedly earned Tabreed a reputation for reliable performance.”

In the 2018 full-year results, Tabreed reported a net profit increase of 7 per cent to AED 427.6 million, adding 39,061 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) of new connections, resulting in the delivery of over 1.1 million TRs of cooling capacity, the communiqué said. During the year, the company acquired 50% of S&T Cool District Cooling Company, a major District Cooling provider on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, from Aldar Properties, the communiqué further said. Tabreed also sold part of its stake in its associate Saudi Tabreed to the IDB Infrastructure Fund II and successfully issued a USD 500 million, seven-year tenure sukuk, which was 50% oversubscribed, the communiqué added.

Jasim Husain Thabet, Chief Executive Officer, Tabreed, said: “Tabreed enjoyed another successful year in 2018, with revenues rising to AED 1.4 billion. Our strategy remains to build on our strong foundations to develop solutions to capture the growing demand for District Cooling in the region, both through an expanded operational footprint and by capturing new and more efficient ways of operating.”