Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation, the Dubai utility known as Empower, has reported a Dh235.5 million ($64.1 million) net profit in the second quarter, underpinned by demand from growing economic activity and the real estate sector in the emirate.
Revenue in the three months to the end of June rose 6.2 per cent to Dh730.6 million, from the same period a year ago, the company said on Friday in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
Operating profit was up nearly 9 per cent annually to Dh276.6 million. Net profit attributable to equity holders of the company was down about 6 per cent year on year, from Dh250.4 million in the first quarter of 2022.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the quarter rose almost 7 per cent to Dh370 million during the reporting period.
For the first half of 2023, Empower's revenue grew more than 6 per cent on an annual basis to Dh1.22 billion, while operating profit climbed 8.7 per cent to Dh477.5 million during the reporting period.
Net profit in the six months to June stood at Dh402.8 million, from Dh431.6 million in the first half of 2022. Ebitda jumped 7.4 per cent to Dh654 million in the period.
Empower said its first-half growth was largely underpinned by Dubai's growing economic activities and the real estate sector, citing a sustainable business model and the rising demand from its diversified customer base that includes residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, entertainment and other segments.
This was mainly driven by high occupancy rates in existing real estate projects, as well as a significant increase in the number of large real estate projects added to its portfolio, it said.
“The results of the first half of 2023 are a realistic translation of the promises made by Empower to investors and shareholders," Ahmad bin Shafar, chief executive of Empower, said in the filing.
"We aim to maintain upward, thriving and sustainable operational and financial performance to bring significant benefits to our stakeholders and contribute to Dubai’s economy, its residents and various economic sectors."
The company in March said that it will pay a cash dividend of Dh425 million to its shareholders for the second half of last year.
Shares of Empower were down 2.6 per cent to Dh1.87 in midday trading on Friday on the DFM.
District cooling companies, growing at a rapid pace in the Middle East, deliver chilled water through insulated pipes to offices, residences and industrial buildings to run air-conditioning systems.
Its benefits include reduced capital and operating costs, lower set-up costs, substantially lower electricity use and lower maintenance, and more sustainability as it enables the use of alternative and cheaper fuels, according to Empower's website.
The company was active in the first half of the year. In May, it acquired the right to operate five district cooling units of Dubai International Airport in a deal valued at Dh1.1 billion and with a total capacity of 110,000 refrigeration tonnes (RT).
It also previously announced a record 7.2 per cent increase in the volume of consumption of its district cooling services in the first half of 2023 compared with the year before.
The company had entered into several exclusivity agreements, including concession agreements with major real estate development projects, such as with Dubai Maritime City (DMC) and Sobha Real Estate to provide its projects district cooling services with capacities exceeding 63,000 RT and 17,000 RT, respectively.
We aim to maintain upward, thriving and sustainable operational and financial performance to bring significant benefits to our stakeholders and contribute to Dubai’s economy, its residents and various economic sectors
Ahmad bin Shafar,
chief executive, Empower
During the period, Empower also began providing services to DMC by connecting the Anwa residential tower to its DMC district cooling plant.
It also started operations of a new district cooling plant in Dubailand, which has a capacity of 47,000 RT and will provide services to residents of the Dubai Land Residence Complex, and began upgrading its Jumeirah Beach Residence plant with modern technologies.
Empower also signed agreements for several other buildings in Dubai, including Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Studio City, the Dubai International Financial Centre, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Barsha Heights, with the total cooling capacity of these agreements reaching 24,000 RT.
"Empower continues to take steady and consistent steps toward expanding its operations and investments in its portfolio of assets and infrastructure," Mr bin Shafar said.
"This is to keep up with the growing demand in the district cooling market in Dubai and create investment opportunities with rewarding returns for investors and shareholders."
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
