The National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) is looking at growth opportunities in the Middle East beyond its Arabian Gulf footprint, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday, on the back of a 9 per cent rise in profits for 2017.
The Dubai-listed firm, which reported net income of Dh400.1 million on Wednesday, is on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the five Gulf markets in which it currently operates, CFO Stephen Ridlington told The National.
“We are the only district cooling company [in the region] which has international operations. We are already international and we want to be more international,” he said. “We are attuned and happy to go into new markets. We think of this as a new phase for us in which we [can] capture some new geographies.”
Tabreed’s renewed expansion drive comes following a strategic investment from France’s Engie, which aims to use the acquisition to aid its expansion in the wider Middle East region and beyond.
Such a move also comes with the backing of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, Tabreed’s largest shareholder, said Mr Ridlington.
“We are going to draw on the support of Engie and Mubadala to try and crystalise growth,” he said. “It’s a major step up for Tabreed and it’s an exciting one.”
Engie acquired a 40 per cent shareholding in the utility provider last year from Mubadala for Dh2.85billion, adding to a portfolio of 71 plants across the Arabian Gulf. The Abu Dhabi investment company retains a 42 per cent in Tabreed.
Mr Ridlington declined to specify the target markets in the wider Middle Eastern region, but ruled out expansion into Asia and the Far East.
The company plans to stick to its core business and is largely interested in building its own plants in new markets in which district cooling services remain a new concept, instead of acquiring existing assets, he said.
Tabreed’s key UAE cooling projects include the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, alongside the Dubai Metro and Dubai Parks and Resorts. Its international footprints include the Jabal Omar development in Makkah. The company has more than Dh1bn in cash and committed bank financings and plans to fund its growth ambitions through a combination on equity and bank lending, Mr Ridlington said.
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“I think it’s a little bit of both. We tend to finance the new projects with project financing. However, if you look at our balance sheet, there is plenty of fire power,” he said.
The company, he said, has Dh400m in cash and Dh700m of committed long term bank lines that are available,
meaning it does not have immediate plan to tap the bond market.
Tabreed reported group revenues of Dh1.4bn for 2017, a 9 per cent rise on the previous year, while the company's profit from core chilled water operations rose 10 per cent over the period, according to a regulatory filing on the Dubai stock exchange.
“Given that strong performance that has been there over recent times, we are hoping that it going to continue in the future. We will continue to see growth around the levels we have seen in the recent past. It’s going to come from across the region,” said Mr Ridlington, without giving specific guidance for the year ahead. The company has maintained an annual capital expenditure of Dh200 million in the past few years. Mr Ridlington said the recent trend is a “reasonable guide for future annual spend”.
Tabreed also said that its total capacity last year reached 1.09 refrigerated tonnes. It added 43,900 of refrigerated tonnes of new customer connections in the last 12-month period with 24,300 refrigerated tonnes of capacity coming on stream in the UAE, 3,000 in Bahrain and 16,600 across its operations in the other GCC markets.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
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Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Vines - In Miracle Land
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
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