Dubai utility DEWA posts 6pc profit

DUBAI: State utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority reported a 6 percent increase in annual profit for 2012 on Sunday, after sales revenues and cash generated from core operations rose.

The monopoly, fully-owned by the government, made a net profit of 4.65 billion dirhams ($1.27 billion) in 2012, up from 4.37 billion dirhams in the prior-year period, its financial statement showed.

Cash generated from operations rose to 7.5 billion dirhams, up from 7.4 billion dirhams in 2011, and sales revenue increased 7 percent over the previous year.

"The healthy cash generation from operations was adequate to fund all capital investment requirements and also to pre-pay some of the loans maturing in future," a directors' report, posted on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse, said.

 "Consequently we reduced interest costs during the year and also brought down the level of debt."

Net debt at the end of 2012 stood at 20.6 billion dirhams, compared to 22.9 billion dirhams at the end of 2011. Of the debt figure, 4.23 billion dirhams is due to be repaid this year.

The Dubai government will receive 500 million dirhams from a dividend payment approved by DEWA's board of directors.

DEWA has picked banks to arrange an Islamic bond, or sukuk, of at least $500 million, sources said last month. The company's chief executive officer has said DEWA plans to raise up to $1 billion in sukuk

Copyright Reuters, 2013