Doha: Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) has reported a net profit of QR1.158bn for the year 2020 against QR1.414bn in 2019. The company also posted a revenue of QR2.586bn in 2020, an increase of 8 percent compared to 2019.
QEWC’s operating profits amounted to QR782m compared to QR879m during the same period in 2019. The Earning per Share (EPS) amounted to QR 1.05 in 2020 compared to QR1.29 in 2019.
The Board of Directors (BOD) has recommended a dividend per share of QR0.63 to be approved at the Annual Shareholders General Assembly on March 8, 2021. Total dividend payment will be QR693m, which is 60 percent of the net profit of the company.
The announcement comes after the meeting of the BOD chaired by the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QEWC Chairman H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi yesterday, where they approved the financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Cash flows from operations remain strong when compared to the same period in the previous year. QEWC recorded operational cash flows of QR1.168bn compared to QR1.132bn during the same period in the previous year.
QEWC, which develops, owns and operates plants to produce electricity and desalinated water to supply to the state-owned Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), remains the second largest utilities company in the field of power generation and water desalination in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In 2020, QEWC’s market share in Qatar stood at 64 percent in the supply of electricity and 74 percent in the supply of desalinated water. The company also aims to continue focusing on renewable energy domain through Siraj Energy, while expanding into international markets through its subsidiary Nebras Power.
QEWC owns and operates 7 power and/or water stations in Qatar and has partnered with international companies to own and operate another 5 power and/or water companies. Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, QEWC’s operations remained stable in 2020. QEWC has secured long-term Power and Water Purchase Agreements (“PWPAs”) with Kahramaa in addition to long-term fuel supply agreements with Qatar Petroleum (QP), limiting its exposure to the pandemic. As a result, QEWC was able to maintain a strong credit rating of ‘A1’ with stable outlook from Moody’s during 2020.
QEWC’s projects remain relatively unaffected and are making progress. During 2020, Umm Al Houl Power Company Expansion Project, which is 60 percent owned by QEWC, 30 percent by K1 Energy, and 5 percent each by QP and Qatar Foundation, made substantial progress and is nearing the completion of the first phase of the project. Phase 1 of the project is expected to deliver a capacity of 30 MIGD by end of February 2021, with its second phase to deliver 31.45 MIGD by April 2021.
The Siraj-1 Solar Power Plant Project, QEWC’s latest project, reached its financial closure in July 2020 and will become the first of its kind to produce electricity using photovoltaic technology in Qatar. Located in Al Kharsaah area, the plant will be able to produce 800 MW at full capacity and is expected to account for one tenth of the current peak electricity demand in Qatar. The project will be executed via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), 60 percent owned by Siraj Energy (a joint venture owned 49 percent by QEWC and 51 percent by QP) and 40 percent owned by a joint consortium of Marubeni Corp (Japan) and Total Solar International (France). The project will be completed under the Build, Own, Operate, Transfer model after which the plant will be transferred to Kahramaa following a concession period of 25 years. In January 2020, Kahramaa entered into a long-term agreement with the SPV to buy electricity from the plant during the 25-year concession period.
Kahramaa intends to develop a new power and water plant (Facility E) by 2023-2024. The facility is expected to have 2,600 MW power capacity and 100 MIGD water capacity and will be located in Ras Abu Fontas. QEWC is expected to own 55 percent share in the project. Further details of the project are expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2021.
QEWC, along with its JVs, has a total capacity of 10,590 MW of electricity and 481.5 MIGD of water. In addition, its foreign investment arm, Nebras Power, which is 60 percent owned by QEWC holds more than 2,000 MW of electricity capacity through a mixture of natural gas, coal, and solar power outside Qatar, on equity-adjusted basis.
