Empower Report $670 Million Revenue for 9M-2024

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, on Thursday reported a revenue of $670 million and EBITDA of $310 million for the first nine months of 2024.

During the nine-month period, Empower’s revenue and EBITDA grew by 8% and 4.7% respectively while profit before tax also grew by 5% to $195.75 million during the same period, the company said in a regulatory filing with Dubai Financial Market (DFM) this morning.

Empower said that the exceptional growth in its revenues and EBITDA for the nine months is driven by increased demand for its services across Dubai. The real estate market is experiencing a significant rise in demand, accompanied by a surge in new development projects and the delivery of existing projects to their owners.

These factors collectively contributed to the expansion of Empower’s customer base and the growth of its capacity for environmentally friendly district cooling services.

Empower CEO Ahmad bin Shafar said that the company became a model and benchmark for businesses that align their actions with expectations of its stakeholders (customers, shareholders, and partners) in a consistent manner.

He further noted that Empower is enhancing its operations to meet the growing demand resulting from Dubai’s economic development, the positive performance of its real estate market, and the growth rates of the hospitality and entertainment sectors.

Sustainable Financial Performance

Over the past 12 months, Empower’s consolidated revenues reached $880 million (Oct 2023-Sep 2024), compared with $810 million (between Oct 2022-Sep 2023), marking an impressive growth rate of 7.6%. During the same period, EBITDA amounted to $410 million (Oct 2023-Sep 2024) as against $400 million (Oct 2022-Sep 2023), reflecting a growth of 4.2%.

Furthermore, in October 2024, Empower distributed dividends totalling $115.71 million to shareholders for the first half of the current year. Empower continued to distribute dividends to its shareholders biannually, with a total of $231.42 million disbursed during its first two fiscal years following its listing on DFM.

After fulfilling its dividend obligations in the initial two fiscal years post-IPO, the company plans to maintain sustainable dividend distributions in alignment with the growth of its business.

Third Quarter Performance

Empower witnessed a significant increase in its business in the third quarter of 2024. The company has signed 18 new contracts during the three months to provide over 21,640 Refrigeration Tons (RT) of cooling to various projects and buildings across different areas of Dubai.

This brought the total number of contracts signed in the first nine months of this year to 74, with a total contracted capacity exceeding 1.75 million RT. The company’s total connected capacity has increased to 1.55 million RT, after adding more than 19,615 RT with 25 new buildings connected during the third quarter.

Empower has achieved significant milestones in its operations and activities during the third quarter of 2024, notably its strategic sponsorship and participation in the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2024), the largest sustainability and clean energy technology event in the region.

New Plant in Deira

In August, the company started construction of its new district cooling plant in Dubai’s Deira district following the award of the main construction contract for the facility.

This new plant is set to serve over 46 buildings within the Deira Waterfront development, a key component of the Deira Enrichment Project, which aims to transform and upgrade the vibrant district by creating 20 residential communities featuring spacious apartments, distinctive commercial spaces, and modern offices, all built while preserving the beauty of Deira’s heritage and cultural character.

Empower also awarded a contract during the period, to design its second district cooling plant in Jumeirah Village, with construction set to begin in the first quarter of 2025. This new plant will be the second in Jumeirah Village among six plants, following its first plant —the world’s first unmanned district cooling plant—which currently serves approximately 114 buildings with a production capacity of 49,000 RTs.