Abu Dhabi’s Taqa approves dividend of $1.56bn for 2022

Energy company plans to play an additional variable dividend based on oil and gas unit performance

Taqa's stand at Adnec in Abu Dhabi. The energy company's net profit from its oil and gas unit more than doubled to Dh4.7 billion in 2022. Victor Besa / The National

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, better known as Taqa, will pay a dividend of Dh5.74 billion ($1.56 billion) to its shareholders for the 2022 financial year.

The company, which reported a 35 per cent rise in 2022 net profit, said it would pay a special dividend of 2.1 fils a share, bringing the total distribution for the financial year to 5.1 fils a share.

Taqa, which announced a new dividend policy on Thursday, said its fixed dividend will amount to 3.25 fils in 2023, 3.50 fils in 2024, and 3.75 fils in 2025 — all paid quarterly, much in the same way as its previous policy.

It also intends to pay an additional variable dividend that will be determined by a discretionary percentage of its net profit from its oil and gas business, and distributed annually following shareholder approval.

“The new policy announced today is an evolution of the quarterly policy we announced in 2020,” said chief executive Jasim Thabet.

“Shareholders will enjoy a fixed return from our utilities business, which has long-term and predictable contracted earnings, and a discretionary variable dividend based on the annual net profit of our oil and gas business.”

Taqa's net profit from its oil and gas unit more than doubled to Dh4.7 billion in 2022, compared with the previous year, amid high energy prices.

Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, surged to about $140 a barrel after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. It has since given up most of its gains and was last trading at about $74 on Thursday.

Taqa also said it expanded the size of its board from nine to eleven.

“The new board of directors … brings in-depth experience and diversity that will ensure the company continues to build on its success to date and deliver sustained value for its shareholders and stakeholders,” said chairman Mohamed Alsuwaidi.

Taqa is one of the largest integrated utilities in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with operations across 11 countries.

It has significant investments in water desalination and power generation, transmission and distribution assets, as well as upstream and midstream oil and gas operations.

In the UAE, it supplies more than 90 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s power and water needs.

The company plans to invest Dh40 billion in infrastructure development as it focuses on its push into renewable energy under its 2030 strategy.

It is teaming up with Adnoc Distribution, the UAE’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, to create a joint venture that will build and operate electric vehicle infrastructure in Abu Dhabi.

Last year, Taqa acquired a 43 per cent controlling stake in Masdar’s renewables business, with Mubadala retaining a 33 per cent interest and Adnoc owning the remaining 24 per cent.