Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) said its net profit fell 15% to 651 million UAE dirhams ($177.24 million) in the first quarter of 2024, compared to AED 763 million in the same period last year.

Finance cost rose 39% year-on-year (YoY) to AED 269 million during the quarter, according to the company’s Q1 2024 financial statement published on the Dubai Financial Market on Thursday.

Quarterly revenue rose 7% year-on-year (YoY) to AED 5.8 billion, driven by an increase in demand for electricity, water and cooling services.

DEWA experienced a noteworthy 7.24% increase in its quarterly peak demand compared to Q1, 2023, reaching 6.1 GW in Q1, 2024

Gross power generation soared to a high of 10.3 terawatt-hour (TWh), marking a 6.2% increase from 9.7 TWh a year earlier.

Net cash from operations rose by AED 692 million to AED 3.3 billion, an increase of 26.9% YoY.

The company expects to pay a minimum annual dividend of AED 6.2 billion in the first five years starting October 2022. The dividends are paid semi-annually in April and October. 

On October 26, 2023, DEWA distributed AED 3.1 billion as a dividend for H1 2023.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)