Chilled water business helps Tabreed

Chilled water business helps Tabreed

Revenue for the quarter rose 5 percent to 326.4 million dirhams from 309.8 million dirhams in the prior-year period.

October 31, 2012 10:07 by Reuters

District cooling firm Tabreed , part-owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala, reported a 35 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, helped by growth in its core chilled water business and lower financing costs.

Dubai-listed Tabreed, which designs and operates cooling systems, reported a third-quarter net profit of 73 million dirhams ($19.9 million), compared with a profit of 54.1 million dirhams a year-ago, Tabreed said in a bourse filing.

Revenue for the quarter rose 5 percent to 326.4 million dirhams from 309.8 million dirhams in the prior-year period.

Formally known as National Cooling Co, Tabreed provides cooling systems to residential and commercial properties in the Gulf region. The utilities company also provides cooling solutions for Dubai’s metro network.

The firm, in which state fund Mubadala Development Co has a 27.3 percent stake, said profits from its chilled water operations increased by 21 percent in the first nine months ending Sept 30 to 255.9 million dirhams.

It also cut finance costs by 26 percent to 128.6 million dirhams during the nine-month period.

Tabreed is among several Gulf firms which has had to restructure its debt after the property market boom ended abruptly in 2009.

In March 2011, the industrial cooling firm secured an extra 3.1 billion dirhams funding from Mubadala, helping it to tackle its debt pile.

The firm currently has 59 plants in the UAE and six plants across the Gulf region. Tabreed’s shares have more than doubled this year, outperforming Dubai’s benchmark index.