Dubai Power and Water Authority (DEWA), says it is “investigating” the “timing and scope” of an IPO for its cooling subsidiary Empower.
DEWA, which recently staged one of Dubai’s biggest IPOs, made the statement in a bourse filing, where it also announced a AED3.3 billion net profit in the first half of 2022.
The figure represents a 33 percent year-on-year growth. The utility provider’s first-half revenue also jumped 15 percent to AED12.08 billion, which it attributes to rising energy demand in Dubai.
“DEWA’s half-year financial results demonstrate our commitment to advancing strategic priorities of sustainability-focused smart growth, enhanced customer happiness, operational excellence and attractive capital returns for our shareholders,” its chief Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said in a statement.
DEWA earlier said energy demand in the emirate increased by 6.3 percent in 2022, compared to last year, reaching 23,096-gigawatt hours. Water demand also grew by 6.4 percent.
Al Tayer said the rising demand was a reflection of Dubai’s post-pandemic recovery. The provider currently serves 3.51 million people in the emirate, with an active daytime population of over 4.7 million – expected to grow even more by 2040 to 5.8 million and 7.8 million respectively.
“Through a disciplined investment strategy focused on realizing the aspirations of the Emirate of Dubai, we retain significant capacity to deploy capital,” he said.
