Dubai’s DEWA Posts 2014 Profit Rise, To Repay $1bn Bond In April

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) will use its own cash to repay a $1 billion bond maturing in April, the company said on Tuesday as it reported a 14.8 per cent increase in 2014 profit.

Dubai’s only utility also said it would distribute a cash dividend for the year of Dhs500 million ($136.1 million) to the government, in line with the figure paid in 2013.

State-owned DEWA made a net profit attributable to shareholders of Dhs5.36 billion in 2014, up from Dhs4.67 billion in the previous year, the company said in a filing to Nasdaq Dubai, where it has debt instruments listed.

DEWA’s customer base grew four per cent in 2014, while the amount of electricity and water it dispatched to customers increased 5.75 per cent and 6.04 per cent respectively, it said in a separate filing.

Cash available to the firm rose to Dhs3.54 billion at the end of 2014 from Dhs1.29 billion a year earlier.

DEWA said it had built up sufficient cash to repay a $1 billion bond, originally issued in 2010, when it comes due in April.